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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. degree — from a university
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. court — for sport
  6. fine — high quality
  7. last — to go on
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. degree — an amount
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. pit — a hole
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. ball — a great time
  14. court — of a king
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. last — finally
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. last — final
  19. court — of law
  20. pit — in a race
  21. degree — temperature
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. ball — a dance
  24. fine — all right

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