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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 120 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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. fall — the season
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bass — low music
  5. fall — to drop
  6. court — for sport
  7. fine — high quality
  8. bat — the animal
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. court — of a king
  11. kid — to tease
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. court — of law
  15. bass — the fish
  16. hand — help
  17. fine — all right
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. kid — child
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. rush — hurry

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