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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. kid — to tease
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bore — to tire
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. deal — to handle
  9. court — of a king
  10. kid — child
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. fork — in a road
  17. court — of law
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. bat — the animal
  24. fork — to eat with

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