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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 116 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: fall · tube · rule · kick · nail · present · swing · court

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. court — of law
  3. court — for sport
  4. kick — in football
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. swing — music
  7. rule — a law
  8. fall — to drop
  9. swing — in golf
  10. tube — a container
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. present — there
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. tube — the underground
  15. fall — the season
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. swing — to play on
  18. rule — government
  19. court — of a king
  20. fall — to drop
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. present — the time now
  24. rule — to rule out

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