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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: net · game · degree · pound · court · fan · capital · kick

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. court — of a king
  3. game — wild animals
  4. court — of law
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. net — for catching
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. game — a match
  10. kick — in football
  11. pound — a weight
  12. degree — from a university
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. net — after costs
  15. court — for sport
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. net — in sport
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. degree — an amount
  20. capital — money
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. degree — temperature
  23. capital — a city
  24. fan — to cool the air

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