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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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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 · rest · snap · mark · land · pound · stem · kick

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. snap — to click
  3. court — of law
  4. land — a country
  5. court — for sport
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. kick — in football
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. stem — to come from
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. rest — a break
  12. mark — a grade
  13. pound — a weight
  14. land — ground
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — what's left
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. court — of a king
  23. mark — a trace
  24. land — to come down

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