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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. chest — of your body
  4. object — to protest
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. object — a thing
  10. fork — in a road
  11. court — of a king
  12. object — an aim
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. scale — size or range
  17. court — of law
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. scale — in music
  20. chest — a box
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a ring
  23. lie — to recline
  24. chest — of your body

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