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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — for sport
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. roll — a list
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. row — a line
  11. court — of law
  12. row — to paddle
  13. mug — a cup
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. roll — a cake
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chip — to eat
  18. cold — an illness
  19. kick — in football
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. ball — a dance
  22. mug — a face
  23. mug — to rob
  24. cold — not warm

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