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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 120 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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. court — for sport
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. court — of a king
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. bat — the animal
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. wax — to grow
  21. court — of law
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. kick — in football

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