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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 120 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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. drill — a practice
  3. net — after costs
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. court — of a king
  6. net — for catching
  7. bat — the animal
  8. court — of law
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. game — wild animals
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. drill — army training
  15. branch — a division
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. net — in sport
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. game — a match
  20. court — for sport
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bear — the animal
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. drill — the tool

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