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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. court — of law
  3. kick — in football
  4. tube — a container
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. court — of a king
  8. cold — not warm
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. court — for sport
  12. cold — an illness
  13. rush — hurry
  14. bear — the animal
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. tube — the underground
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. fan — a supporter

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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