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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. court — of a king
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. court — for sport
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. tube — the underground
  7. stem — to come from
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. snap — to click
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. wind — moving air
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. game — wild animals
  17. tube — a container
  18. wind — moving air
  19. court — of law
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. game — a match
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. kick — in football

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