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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: shower · prune · kid · craft · chip · field · court · kick

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. chip — to eat
  4. court — of a king
  5. kid — to tease
  6. prune — to trim
  7. court — of law
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. court — for sport
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. chip — for betting
  12. kick — in football
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. prune — to trim
  15. field — for sport
  16. craft — a skill
  17. kid — child
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. craft — boats
  20. field — farmland
  21. shower — rain
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. shower — to wash
  24. field — a subject

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