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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. key — the most important part
  6. fall — the season
  7. court — for sport
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. fall — to drop
  10. key — for a lock
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — of law
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. ball — a great time
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. key — in music
  17. ball — a dance
  18. lash — a whip stroke

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