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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. kick — in football
  3. land — to come down
  4. net — for catching
  5. land — ground
  6. craft — a skill
  7. craft — boats
  8. net — in sport
  9. land — a country
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. court — of a king
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. firm — a company
  14. court — for sport
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. net — after costs
  17. court — of law
  18. firm — steady

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