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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. court — of a king
  5. drill — a practice
  6. game — wild animals
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. snap — to click
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. game — a match
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. drill — the tool
  14. pitch — completely
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. wind — moving air
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. drill — army training
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. court — of law
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. wind — moving air

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