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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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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: wound · lash · spring · court · mouse · ball · bat · kick

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. spring — the season
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. bat — the animal
  6. court — of law
  7. ball — a great time
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. spring — a coil
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. court — of a king
  13. wound — an injury
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. court — for sport
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. kick — in football
  18. spring — of water
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. ball — a dance
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. wound — an injury

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