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

Word bank: wake · wave · kid · club · bat · fan · tear · court

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. kid — to tease
  6. tear — to rip
  7. court — of law
  8. bat — the animal
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. kid — child
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. court — for sport
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. club — for golf
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. club — a group
  18. club — for dancing
  19. wake — a trail
  20. tear — from crying
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. tear — from crying

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