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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 120 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 · kick · scale · pound · bore · chest · hand · bowl

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. scale — in music
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. chest — of your body
  8. court — of a king
  9. chest — of your body
  10. kick — in football
  11. scale — size or range
  12. court — for sport
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. bore — to tire
  15. court — of law
  16. pound — a weight
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. chest — a box
  20. hand — in cards
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. hand — help
  24. bore — to drill

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