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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. ball — a dance
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. chest — a box
  7. ball — a great time
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. court — for sport
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bulb — for light
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. chest — of your body
  20. shower — rain
  21. bulb — for light
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — of law
  24. fan — a supporter

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