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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. court — of a king
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. mine — for digging
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. bat — the animal
  10. kid — child
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. court — of law
  13. wake — a trail
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — to tease
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. bat — in an idiom

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