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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 hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. chest — of your body
  4. lean — thin
  5. court — of law
  6. net — after costs
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. game — wild animals
  9. mug — to rob
  10. chest — a box
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. game — a match
  13. net — for catching
  14. mug — a face
  15. spring — of water
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. court — for sport
  18. spring — the season
  19. chest — of your body
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. court — of a king
  22. lean — to bend
  23. spring — a coil
  24. mug — a cup

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