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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: lash · firm · court · swing · wound · kick · net · vault

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. net — in sport
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. swing — to play on
  5. swing — in golf
  6. firm — a company
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. vault — a safe
  9. court — of law
  10. court — for sport
  11. court — of a king
  12. wound — an injury
  13. firm — decided
  14. wound — an injury
  15. net — for catching
  16. firm — steady
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. net — after costs
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. kick — in football
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. swing — music
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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