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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 116 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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. spring — the season
  4. bulb — for light
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. file — a document
  7. bulb — for light
  8. court — of a king
  9. game — a match
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. spring — of water
  12. court — for sport
  13. staff — employees
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — a stick
  17. game — wild animals
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — a break
  20. spring — a coil
  21. court — of law
  22. file — a line of people
  23. rest — what's left
  24. file — a tool

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