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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 put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. court — of law
  3. row — to paddle
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. fall — to drop
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. row — a line
  9. court — for sport
  10. game — a match
  11. fall — the season
  12. cap — a hat
  13. track — to keep track
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. fall — to drop
  19. court — of a king
  20. track — a path
  21. game — wild animals
  22. track — a song
  23. cap — of ice
  24. mouse — the animal

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