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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. bat — the animal
  4. kid — to tease
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. kid — child
  8. bore — to drill
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. court — for sport
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. sharp — clever
  18. court — of law
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. bore — to tire
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. hand — help
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. sharp — exactly

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