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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: saw · bat · net · drill · ball · key · snap · court

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. net — in sport
  3. ball — a dance
  4. drill — a practice
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — after costs
  8. key — for a lock
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. key — the most important part
  11. drill — the tool
  12. snap — to click
  13. ball — a great time
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bat — the animal
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. saw — the tool
  19. court — of law
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. key — in music
  22. drill — army training
  23. court — of a king
  24. bat — in an idiom

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