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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. squash — the sport
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. court — for sport
  5. net — for catching
  6. court — of law
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — a match
  9. kid — to tease
  10. track — a path
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. track — to keep track
  13. kid — child
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. net — in sport
  16. court — of a king
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. squash — to crush
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. track — a song
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. game — wild animals
  24. net — after costs

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