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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. cap — of ice
  4. squash — the sport
  5. wound — an injury
  6. ground — the earth
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. court — for sport
  9. kick — in football
  10. pop — music
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. wound — an injury
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. ground — crushed
  18. court — of a king
  19. cap — a hat
  20. squash — to crush
  21. cap — a lid
  22. pop — soda
  23. ground — a position
  24. pop — to visit

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