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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. kid — to tease
  4. court — for sport
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. court — of law
  7. staff — employees
  8. ball — a great time
  9. court — of a king
  10. suit — to fit
  11. staff — employees
  12. fork — in a road
  13. suit — clothes
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. ball — a dance
  16. bat — the animal
  17. file — a line of people
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. suit — in cards
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a tool
  24. staff — a stick

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