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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 116 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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. rock — music
  3. court — of law
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. band — a music group
  6. court — of a king
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. key — in music
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. key — the most important part
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. court — for sport
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. key — for a lock
  18. game — a match
  19. game — wild animals
  20. band — a ring
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. kid — to tease
  23. rock — a stone
  24. kid — child

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