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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 120 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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. tube — a container
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. mug — a cup
  7. rash — hasty
  8. court — of a king
  9. mug — to rob
  10. tube — the underground
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. court — for sport
  13. rash — a series
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. bat — the animal
  16. game — wild animals
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. game — a match
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. mug — a face
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. temple — side of the head

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