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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: cold · court · mark · net · kick · current · bat · lie

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. court — of law
  4. current — electric
  5. bat — the animal
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. court — for sport
  8. current — happening now
  9. cold — not warm
  10. current — of water
  11. net — after costs
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. kick — in football
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. court — of a king
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. net — for catching
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. net — in sport
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. mark — a grade
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. mark — a trace

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