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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. hand — help
  5. court — of a king
  6. kid — to tease
  7. object — to protest
  8. object — a thing
  9. roll — a list
  10. roll — a cake
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — not warm
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. kid — child
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. court — of law
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. rush — hurry
  20. object — an aim
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. court — for sport
  24. hand — in cards

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