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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 120 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: bat · club · leaves · kid · court · staff · bear · tube

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. tube — a container
  3. bear — the animal
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. court — of law
  6. staff — employees
  7. court — for sport
  8. bat — the animal
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. club — a group
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bear — the animal
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. club — for dancing
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. club — for golf
  19. court — of a king
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. staff — employees
  22. kid — child
  23. tube — the underground
  24. bat — for baseball

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