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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. net — after costs
  3. court — of law
  4. court — for sport
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. spell — letters
  8. wound — an injury
  9. net — for catching
  10. cue — for pool
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. cue — a signal
  13. rest — what's left
  14. court — of a king
  15. kick — in football
  16. spell — a short time
  17. rest — what's left
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. net — in sport
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. wound — an injury
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. rest — a break
  24. cue — a hint

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