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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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. board — a flat piece
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a music group
  6. mug — to rob
  7. rash — a series
  8. court — of a king
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. mug — a cup
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. court — for sport
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. rash — hasty
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. board — a committee
  17. chip — to eat
  18. kid — to tease
  19. mug — a face
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. chip — for betting
  22. board — to get on
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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