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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: hide · kick · board · racket · fork · pop · chest · court

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. pop — soda
  4. board — to get on
  5. chest — a box
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. kick — in football
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pop — to visit
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. chest — of your body
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. fork — in a road
  18. court — of a king
  19. pop — music
  20. board — a committee
  21. court — for sport
  22. court — of law
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. kick — with a leg

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