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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. rest — a break
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. kick — in football
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. spring — a coil
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. rest — what's left
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. rest — what's left
  14. pitch — completely
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. court — for sport
  17. spring — the season
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. spring — of water
  20. shower — to wash
  21. court — of a king
  22. shower — rain
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. pitch — a sports field

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