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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 120 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: court · saw · file · suit · kid · march · kick · scale

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. court — of a king
  3. march — music
  4. saw — the tool
  5. kid — to tease
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. scale — in music
  8. suit — clothes
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a document
  11. court — of law
  12. scale — size or range
  13. march — the month
  14. file — a tool
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. march — the month
  17. suit — to fit
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. kid — child
  20. kick — in football
  21. suit — in cards
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. saw — the tool
  24. court — for sport

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