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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. spell — magic
  3. mate — a partner
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. bat — the animal
  6. mate — a friend
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. fork — in a road
  10. date — the fruit
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. pitch — completely
  14. hand — help
  15. court — of a king
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. court — for sport
  18. mate — to breed
  19. court — of law
  20. spell — a short time
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. spell — letters
  24. bat — in an idiom

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