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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 116 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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. court — of law
  3. court — of a king
  4. ball — a great time
  5. kid — to tease
  6. bass — the fish
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bass — low music
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — the animal
  13. net — for catching
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. net — in sport
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. court — for sport
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. net — after costs
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. ball — a dance
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. bat — for baseball

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