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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. net — in sport
  6. mate — a partner
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. last — final
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. court — for sport
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. court — of law
  14. mate — a friend
  15. last — finally
  16. cell — a phone
  17. last — to go on
  18. mate — to breed
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. net — for catching
  21. net — after costs
  22. kick — in football
  23. court — of a king
  24. cell — in biology

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