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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. court — of a king
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. prune — to trim
  5. kick — in football
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bat — the animal
  10. can — a tin
  11. chest — a box
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. chest — of your body
  15. can — a tin
  16. court — of law
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. chest — of your body
  19. can — to be able to
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. court — for sport

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