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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · cold · ball · racket · wound · tube · mug · ruler

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. tube — the underground
  4. wound — an injury
  5. court — of law
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. ball — a great time
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of a king
  10. wound — an injury
  11. mug — a cup
  12. cold — not warm
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. mug — to rob
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. tube — a container
  20. cold — an illness
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. ball — a dance
  24. ruler — a monarch

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