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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. court — of law
  3. court — for sport
  4. squash — the sport
  5. deal — to handle
  6. fine — all right
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. suit — to fit
  9. fine — high quality
  10. tube — the underground
  11. squash — to crush
  12. hand — in cards
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — size or range
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. suit — clothes
  19. hand — help
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. court — of a king
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. suit — in cards

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