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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. mine — for digging
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. ball — a great time
  5. fine — high quality
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. perch — the fish
  8. court — for sport
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. court — of law
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. court — of a king
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. fine — all right
  15. ball — a dance
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. deal — to handle
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. fine — a penalty

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