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

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of law
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. land — a country
  9. kick — in football
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. chest — of your body
  15. land — to come down
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. land — ground

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