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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bat — the animal
  3. firm — decided
  4. firm — a company
  5. court — of law
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. deal — to handle
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. court — of a king
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. chair — a leader
  17. kid — to tease
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. firm — steady
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. kid — child
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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