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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: court · chest · branch · net · rock · kick · suit · snap

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. suit — clothes
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. chest — a box
  5. rock — music
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. chest — of your body
  8. court — of law
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. net — in sport
  11. net — for catching
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. net — after costs
  14. suit — to fit
  15. snap — to click
  16. court — of a king
  17. court — for sport
  18. branch — a division
  19. rock — a stone
  20. suit — in cards
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. chest — of your body
  24. branch — of a tree

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