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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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. bowl — a football final
  4. fall — to drop
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. bound — obliged
  8. court — for sport
  9. spring — of water
  10. craft — boats
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bound — certain
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — the animal
  20. spring — the season
  21. court — of a king
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. craft — a skill
  24. court — of law

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