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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: cue · dip · court · kid · fine · kick · fork · land

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  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. court — of law
  2. cue — for pool
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. kid — child
  6. land — to come down
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kick — in football
  9. court — of a king
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. fine — all right
  12. court — for sport
  13. dip — to sink
  14. land — a country
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. land — ground
  17. cue — a signal
  18. cue — a hint
  19. fine — high quality
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. fork — in a road
  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