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

Word bank: court · snap · cell · kick · roll · sharp · swing · fork

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. court — of law
  4. court — for sport
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. cell — a phone
  7. swing — in golf
  8. sharp — clever
  9. snap — to click
  10. cell — in biology
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. swing — to play on
  13. fork — in a road
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. roll — a cake
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. kick — in football
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. roll — a list
  20. swing — music
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. court — of a king
  24. kick — a thrill

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