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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. court — of a king
  3. spring — a coil
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. kid — to tease
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — child
  11. swing — music
  12. object — a thing
  13. object — an aim
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. spring — of water
  16. court — for sport
  17. spring — the season
  18. court — of law
  19. swing — to play on
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. swing — in golf
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. jam — in traffic

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