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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: kick · court · chip · fine · bat · plane · chest · ground

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. chest — of your body
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. chip — to eat
  5. chest — a box
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. fine — all right
  8. plane — a tool
  9. ground — crushed
  10. court — of a king
  11. ground — the earth
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. court — for sport
  16. bat — the animal
  17. kick — in football
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. chest — of your body
  20. ground — a position
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. fine — high quality
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. chip — for betting

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