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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. hand — help
  3. fine — all right
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. pop — to visit
  6. fine — high quality
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — after costs
  9. net — for catching
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. ball — a dance
  20. pop — music
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. ball — a great time
  24. pop — soda

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