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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. squash — the sport
  5. court — of a king
  6. field — a subject
  7. squash — to crush
  8. object — a thing
  9. land — to come down
  10. object — to protest
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. court — for sport
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. object — an aim
  18. court — of law
  19. branch — a division
  20. kick — in football
  21. field — for sport
  22. land — ground
  23. field — farmland
  24. land — a country

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