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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. mug — to rob
  5. fall — the season
  6. kid — to tease
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. mug — a face
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. fall — to drop
  14. rush — hurry
  15. court — of law
  16. wound — an injury
  17. mine — for digging
  18. court — of a king
  19. fall — to drop
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. court — for sport
  23. wound — an injury
  24. mug — a cup

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