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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. lean — thin
  4. squash — the sport
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. court — of a king
  7. kid — child
  8. court — of law
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. chest — of your body
  14. squash — to crush
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. chest — of your body
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bear — the animal
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. lean — to bend
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. chest — a box

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