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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 don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  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. mouse — the animal
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. court — of a king
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. dip — to sink
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. cold — an illness
  11. kid — to tease
  12. cold — not warm
  13. court — of law
  14. court — for sport
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. bowl — a football final
  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