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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: mark · kid · snap · squash · land · ball · court · chip

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. land — to come down
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. kid — to tease
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. court — for sport
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. court — of a king
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. chip — to eat
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chip — for betting
  14. kid — child
  15. squash — to crush
  16. mark — a grade
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. ball — a dance
  19. ball — a great time
  20. land — ground
  21. land — a country
  22. snap — to click
  23. mark — a trace
  24. squash — the sport

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