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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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. fan — a supporter
  4. court — of law
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — a phone
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. kid — child
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. kid — to tease
  13. plane — a tool
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — to crush
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. pound — a weight
  21. squash — the sport
  22. bat — the animal
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. court — of a king

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