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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. court — of law
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. plane — a tool
  5. court — of a king
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. ball — a dance
  10. tube — the underground
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. ball — a great time
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. court — for sport
  17. mate — to breed
  18. tube — a container
  19. mate — a partner
  20. mate — a friend
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. lean — to bend
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. lean — thin

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