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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. spring — of water
  3. kick — in football
  4. spring — the season
  5. last — final
  6. court — of law
  7. court — of a king
  8. spring — a coil
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. court — for sport
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. last — to go on
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — for sport
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. pass — a permit
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. field — farmland
  21. last — finally
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. pass — to spend time

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