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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. court — of a king
  3. mug — a cup
  4. scale — in music
  5. fall — to drop
  6. net — after costs
  7. net — in sport
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — in cards
  10. pop — music
  11. mug — to rob
  12. tear — to rip
  13. fall — to drop
  14. tear — from crying
  15. net — for catching
  16. court — for sport
  17. tear — from crying
  18. mug — a face
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. court — of law
  21. pop — soda
  22. pop — to visit
  23. fall — the season
  24. hand — part of the body

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