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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — of law
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. object — to protest
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. can — to be able to
  8. file — a document
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. object — a thing
  11. chest — of your body
  12. can — a tin
  13. object — an aim
  14. file — a tool
  15. chest — a box
  16. sharp — clever
  17. season — in sport
  18. chest — of your body
  19. season — of the year
  20. kick — in football
  21. can — a tin
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. file — a line of people
  24. court — for sport

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