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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  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. file — a line of people
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rule — government
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. wind — moving air
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. file — a tool
  10. net — for catching
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. rule — a law
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. squash — to crush
  16. net — after costs
  17. court — of law
  18. net — in sport
  19. kick — in football
  20. squash — the sport
  21. file — a document
  22. snap — to click
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  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