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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of law
  4. land — ground
  5. bear — the animal
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. kid — child
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. spell — a short time
  11. land — to come down
  12. spell — letters
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. court — of a king
  15. land — a country
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. bear — the animal
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. date — the fruit
  21. kid — to tease
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. spell — magic
  24. chair — a leader

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