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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: snap · lash · cue · pop · cap · kick · court · straw

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. pop — to visit
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. court — for sport
  7. court — of law
  8. cue — for pool
  9. cue — a hint
  10. kick — in football
  11. pop — music
  12. cap — a hat
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cue — a signal
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. pop — soda
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. cap — a lid
  21. snap — to click
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. court — of a king
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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