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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 · wake · lean · board · pitch · file · kick · cell

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. kick — in football
  3. lean — to bend
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a line of people
  10. cell — in biology
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. court — of law
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. board — a committee
  18. pitch — completely
  19. board — to get on
  20. court — of a king
  21. lean — thin
  22. file — a document
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — a phone

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