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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. court — for sport
  3. kid — to tease
  4. object — to protest
  5. can — to be able to
  6. court — of law
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. object — an aim
  10. object — a thing
  11. can — a tin
  12. drill — a practice
  13. court — of a king
  14. drill — the tool
  15. root — the cause
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. kid — child
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — of a word
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. drill — army training
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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