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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: chip · court · rash · ball · content · kick · bat · mate

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  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. rash — a series
  3. court — of law
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. bat — the animal
  8. content — the amount
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. kick — in football
  11. rash — hasty
  12. mate — a friend
  13. court — for sport
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. court — of a king
  16. chip — to eat
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. chip — for betting
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. mate — a partner
  21. mate — to breed
  22. content — happy
  23. ball — a dance
  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