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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. rest — what's left
  3. hand — in cards
  4. row — a line
  5. mine — for digging
  6. court — of law
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. rest — a break
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — the animal
  12. object — a thing
  13. court — of a king
  14. hand — help
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. object — to protest
  17. rest — what's left
  18. court — for sport
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. object — an aim
  22. row — to paddle
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mine — an explosive

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