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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. kid — child
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. spring — a coil
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. key — the most important part
  9. court — for sport
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. court — of a king
  12. cap — of ice
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. court — of law
  16. cap — a hat
  17. kid — to tease
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. key — in music
  20. spring — of water
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. key — for a lock
  23. cap — a lid
  24. spring — the season

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