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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. mine — for digging
  3. net — in sport
  4. court — of law
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. ground — the earth
  7. ground — a position
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. net — after costs
  10. court — for sport
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. ground — crushed
  14. court — of a king
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. net — for catching
  18. hide — to keep secret

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