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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. staff — employees
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. kid — to tease
  8. court — of law
  9. net — for catching
  10. band — a ring
  11. kid — child
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. court — for sport
  14. staff — a stick
  15. staff — employees
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. court — of a king
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — money
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. date — the fruit
  23. net — after costs
  24. toast — bread

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