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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. spell — a short time
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — to tease
  6. mine — for digging
  7. present — there
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. present — a gift
  10. fork — in a road
  11. kick — in football
  12. spell — magic
  13. shower — rain
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. court — for sport
  16. spell — letters
  17. present — the time now
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. court — of a king
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. shower — to wash
  24. mine — belonging to me

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