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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 · date · arm · fork · scale · kick · club · lash

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. club — for dancing
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. court — of law
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. club — for golf
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. kick — in football
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. club — a group
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. scale — in music
  18. date — the fruit
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. fork — in a road
  22. court — for sport
  23. scale — size or range
  24. date — on the calendar

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