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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. can — a tin
  3. game — wild animals
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of a king
  8. fork — in a road
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. bass — low music
  12. snap — to click
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. game — a match
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. bass — the fish
  17. can — to be able to
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. court — of law
  22. can — a tin
  23. kid — child
  24. ruler — a monarch

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