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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. wound — an injury
  3. mug — to rob
  4. wound — an injury
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. rash — hasty
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a line of people
  11. rash — a series
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. mug — a face
  14. kick — in football
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. ball — a great time
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. kid — to tease
  19. file — a tool
  20. court — of law
  21. court — of a king
  22. mug — a cup
  23. kid — child
  24. ball — a dance

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