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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. snap — to click
  4. hand — help
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. court — of law
  11. game — a match
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. game — wild animals
  20. bark — to shout
  21. hand — in cards
  22. court — of a king
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  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