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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 116 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. kid — to tease
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. court — of law
  5. court — for sport
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. ball — a dance
  8. dip — to sink
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. kid — child
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. march — the month
  14. track — to keep track
  15. track — a song
  16. court — of a king
  17. track — a path
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. march — the month
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. march — music
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. ball — a great time
  24. coach — a trainer

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