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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. cell — a phone
  4. toast — bread
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. court — of a king
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. kick — in football
  11. cell — in biology
  12. fall — to drop
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. snap — to click
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. pound — a weight
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. fall — the season
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. court — of law
  22. fall — to drop
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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