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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. ball — a dance
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. court — of law
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — for sport
  11. wound — an injury
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. ball — a great time
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. kid — child
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. wound — an injury
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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