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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: court · hand · racket · bear · bat · mug

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. hand — help
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. bear — the animal
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of a king
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. mug — a face
  14. mug — a cup
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. court — of law
  18. mug — to rob

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