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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 124 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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. cell — in biology
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. hand — in cards
  5. fine — all right
  6. hand — help
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. charge — electricity
  11. net — after costs
  12. charge — a price
  13. vault — a safe
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. kick — in football
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. charge — in control
  19. net — in sport
  20. fine — high quality
  21. net — for catching
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. racket — a loud noise

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