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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 120 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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. net — in sport
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. scale — in music
  6. court — of a king
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. net — for catching
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. net — after costs
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. scale — size or range
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. court — of law
  17. game — wild animals
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. game — a match
  20. kid — child
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. kid — to tease
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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