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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. court — of law
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. hand — help
  13. court — for sport
  14. branch — a division
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. kid — child
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. court — of a king
  21. scale — size or range
  22. scale — in music
  23. hand — in cards
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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