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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. charge — a price
  3. file — a tool
  4. lean — to bend
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. court — of law
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. bear — the animal
  10. court — for sport
  11. bear — the animal
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. charge — electricity
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. court — of a king
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. lean — thin
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a document
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. kick — in football
  23. foot — a measure
  24. charge — in control

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