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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: court · mouse · ground · chip · tear · racket · dip · bat

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of law
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. tear — from crying
  7. chip — for betting
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. tear — to rip
  12. bat — the animal
  13. court — of a king
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. ground — a position
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. ground — the earth
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. chip — to eat
  21. dip — to sink
  22. tear — from crying
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. ground — crushed

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