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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 116 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: bowl · bound · kick · trunk · court · sharp · net · rock

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  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. bowl — a dish
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. bound — certain
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. court — of a king
  6. net — for catching
  7. rock — music
  8. court — of law
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — after costs
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bound — tied together
  16. court — for sport
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. sharp — clever
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. rock — a stone
  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