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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. squash — the sport
  3. court — of law
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. capital — money
  6. snap — to click
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. date — the fruit
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. court — for sport
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. court — of a king
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. kick — in football
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. ball — a great time
  20. capital — a city
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. squash — to crush

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