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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of a king
  4. chip — for betting
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. kick — in football
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. court — of law
  9. stand — to bear
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. chip — to eat
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. patient — a sick person

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