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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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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: present · craft · wound · chip · scale · kick · court · bat

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. scale — size or range
  3. bat — the animal
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. chip — to eat
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. kick — in football
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. present — there
  11. wound — an injury
  12. present — the time now
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. craft — boats
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. craft — a skill
  17. chip — for betting
  18. court — for sport
  19. wound — an injury
  20. scale — in music
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. present — a gift
  24. court — of law

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