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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. kick — in football
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. bass — the fish
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. track — to keep track
  9. court — of a king
  10. bass — low music
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. court — for sport
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. net — in sport
  15. bat — the animal
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. net — for catching
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. net — after costs
  21. track — a path
  22. court — of law
  23. dip — to sink
  24. track — a song

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