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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. bound — obliged
  4. court — for sport
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. bound — tied together
  8. rock — music
  9. kick — in football
  10. ball — a dance
  11. court — of law
  12. stock — goods
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. sharp — clever
  16. stock — shares
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. court — of a king
  20. bound — certain
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. rock — a stone
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. ball — a great time

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