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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. hand — in cards
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. court — for sport
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. court — of a king
  11. bore — to tire
  12. key — the most important part
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. court — of law
  15. wax — to grow
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. hand — help
  18. key — in music
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. key — for a lock
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. bore — to drill

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