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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. lean — to bend
  3. cue — a signal
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. rash — a series
  6. present — a gift
  7. rash — hasty
  8. court — of law
  9. cue — a hint
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. lean — thin
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. kick — in football
  14. present — the time now
  15. court — of a king
  16. present — there
  17. cue — for pool
  18. stock — shares
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. stock — goods
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — part of the body

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