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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. court — of a king
  3. lean — to bend
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. lean — thin
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — to tease
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. court — for sport
  10. spell — magic
  11. court — of law
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. kid — child
  14. spell — letters
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. ball — a dance
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. ball — a great time
  20. spell — a short time
  21. saw — the tool
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. bore — to drill
  24. bore — to tire

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