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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: hand · ball · net · file · leaves · chair · kick · sharp

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. kick — in football
  4. hand — help
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. file — a line of people
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. sharp — clever
  9. hand — in cards
  10. file — a tool
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. net — after costs
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. file — a document
  16. net — for catching
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. chair — a leader
  20. ball — a great time
  21. net — in sport
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. ball — a dance
  24. sharp — with an edge

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