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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 were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. bound — obliged
  3. game — wild animals
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — of law
  7. rock — music
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the fish
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bound — tied together
  13. court — for sport
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. game — a match
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. kid — child
  22. bound — certain
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. bass — the instrument

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