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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
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: court · ground · fan · mouse · tear · staff · kick · clip

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. ground — the earth
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — a position
  7. staff — a stick
  8. tear — to rip
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — of law
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. staff — employees
  13. staff — employees
  14. clip — a video
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. court — for sport
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. kick — in football
  20. tear — from crying
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. clip — for paper
  23. clip — to cut
  24. tear — from crying

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