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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — for sport
  3. game — a match
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. row — to paddle
  6. firm — decided
  7. game — wild animals
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. date — the fruit
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. court — of a king
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. firm — steady
  16. bat — the animal
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. firm — a company
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — to crush
  23. row — a line
  24. date — on the calendar

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