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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 120 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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. foot — a measure
  3. suit — clothes
  4. rest — a break
  5. court — for sport
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. suit — in cards
  8. wound — an injury
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. hand — in cards
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. hand — help
  14. wound — an injury
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. court — of a king
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — a position
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. rest — what's left
  22. ground — crushed
  23. suit — to fit
  24. rest — what's left

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