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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: court · ball · game · sharp · chest · jam · kick · bark

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. game — a match
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. court — of law
  5. court — for sport
  6. court — of a king
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. sharp — clever
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. ball — a dance
  12. kick — in football
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bark — to shout
  17. game — wild animals
  18. chest — a box
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. kick — a thrill

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