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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: nail · pop · foot · rush · court · kick · file · land

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. foot — a measure
  3. rush — hurry
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. file — a line of people
  6. pop — soda
  7. land — a country
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. file — a tool
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. court — for sport
  15. file — a document
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. court — of a king
  18. pop — to visit
  19. kick — in football
  20. pop — music
  21. court — of law
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. land — ground
  24. foot — the bottom

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