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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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. court — of law
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. court — of a king
  6. object — to protest
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. rest — what's left
  11. kid — to tease
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. object — a thing
  14. rest — what's left
  15. wound — an injury
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. object — an aim
  18. wound — an injury
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. kid — child
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. court — for sport

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