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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. court — of a king
  3. race — a contest
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. mug — to rob
  6. kid — to tease
  7. mug — a cup
  8. court — for sport
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. tube — a container
  11. hand — in cards
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. race — the arms race
  14. mug — a face
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. race — humankind
  17. tube — the underground
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. kid — child
  20. hand — help
  21. court — of law
  22. ball — a great time
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. ball — a round shape

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