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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 is in your ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. kid — child
  7. rush — hurry
  8. club — for dancing
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — a video
  11. bore — to drill
  12. club — for golf
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. court — of law
  15. bore — to tire
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. kid — to tease
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. dip — to sink
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. clip — for paper
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. club — a group

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