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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. court — of a king
  6. ground — the earth
  7. court — for sport
  8. mate — a friend
  9. court — of law
  10. kick — in football
  11. last — final
  12. mate — a partner
  13. rest — a break
  14. rest — what's left
  15. mate — to breed
  16. ground — a position
  17. last — to go on
  18. fall — to drop
  19. rest — what's left
  20. ground — crushed
  21. last — finally
  22. fall — the season
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. pitch — completely

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