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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. chest — of your body
  3. drill — army training
  4. drill — a practice
  5. drill — the tool
  6. band — a ring
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. kid — child
  9. court — of law
  10. court — for sport
  11. scale — size or range
  12. kid — to tease
  13. chest — a box
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. ground — the earth
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. ground — a position
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. chest — of your body
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. scale — in music
  23. ground — crushed
  24. band — a music 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