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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. shower — rain
  3. charge — in control
  4. game — a match
  5. court — of a king
  6. game — wild animals
  7. shower — to wash
  8. bass — low music
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. ball — a great time
  11. charge — a price
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. ball — a dance
  14. court — of law
  15. charge — electricity
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. court — for sport
  21. bass — the fish
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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