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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. net — in sport
  4. court — of law
  5. kick — in football
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. net — after costs
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. season — in sport
  11. sharp — clever
  12. file — a tool
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. bound — tied together
  15. court — for sport
  16. net — for catching
  17. file — a document
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bound — certain
  22. court — of a king
  23. bound — obliged
  24. season — of the year

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