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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: deal · fall · court · kid · band · straw · net · arm

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. court — of a king
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. kid — child
  5. net — after costs
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. net — in sport
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a music group
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. deal — to handle
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. fall — the season
  14. court — of law
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. fall — to drop
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. court — for sport
  20. band — a ring
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. fall — to drop
  24. kid — to tease

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