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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. court — of a king
  6. object — an aim
  7. swing — in golf
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. court — for sport
  10. swing — music
  11. cold — not warm
  12. court — of law
  13. object — to protest
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. cold — an illness
  16. kid — child
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. object — a thing
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. swing — to play on
  24. temple — a place of worship

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