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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. court — for sport
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bear — the animal
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chair — a leader
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. kick — in football
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. court — of a king
  14. land — ground
  15. bear — the animal
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. hand — help
  20. land — to come down
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. court — of law
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. land — a country

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