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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 116 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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. bass — low music
  3. court — of a king
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. pop — music
  7. sharp — clever
  8. lean — thin
  9. bass — the fish
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. kick — in football
  12. court — for sport
  13. pop — to visit
  14. object — a thing
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. court — of law
  22. object — to protest
  23. pop — soda
  24. object — an aim

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