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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. court — of law
  3. court — for sport
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. kid — child
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chip — for betting
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. court — of a king
  16. tear — from crying
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. tear — to rip
  20. chip — to eat
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. scale — in music
  23. scale — size or range
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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