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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: mine · court · bulb · rule · hide · kick · kid · present

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. bulb — for light
  3. rule — a law
  4. rule — government
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. kid — child
  8. present — there
  9. court — for sport
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. present — a gift
  15. mine — for digging
  16. court — of a king
  17. present — the time now
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. kid — to tease
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. bulb — for light
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. kick — in football

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