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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: scale · rash · court · kick · fan · hand · bear · cabinet

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. court — for sport
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — help
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bear — the animal
  9. rash — a series
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. court — of law
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. scale — size or range
  15. bear — the animal
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. scale — in music
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. kick — in football
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. court — of a king

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