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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. tube — the underground
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. scale — in music
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. cell — a phone
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. tube — a container
  10. court — of a king
  11. snap — to click
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. court — for sport
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. cell — in biology
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. scale — size or range
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. deal — to handle
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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