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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: court · pound · kick · swing · staff · field

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — for sport
  3. kick — in football
  4. court — of law
  5. staff — employees
  6. swing — to play on
  7. field — for sport
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. swing — music
  11. swing — in golf
  12. pound — a weight
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. staff — employees
  16. field — a subject
  17. staff — a stick
  18. field — farmland

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