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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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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. bat — the animal
  3. scale — in music
  4. court — of law
  5. scale — size or range
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bound — obliged
  8. court — for sport
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — tied together
  14. kick — in football
  15. court — of a king
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. prune — to trim

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