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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — to drop
  5. rest — a break
  6. hand — in cards
  7. fall — the season
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. court — of a king
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. plane — a tool
  16. bass — low music
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. bass — the fish
  19. band — a ring
  20. rest — what's left
  21. band — a music group
  22. hand — help
  23. rest — what's left
  24. court — of law

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