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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. court — for sport
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. kid — child
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. kid — to tease
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. court — of law
  16. squash — the sport
  17. chest — a box
  18. squash — to crush

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com