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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 thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. court — for sport
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. court — of a king
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. chair — a leader
  10. snap — to click
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. race — the arms race
  14. track — a path
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — to wash
  17. track — to keep track
  18. track — a song
  19. race — humankind
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. court — of law
  23. race — a contest
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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