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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: court · racket · fan · chest · ground · kick · firm · row

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. chest — of your body
  3. ground — a position
  4. chest — a box
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. firm — a company
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. court — for sport
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. row — to paddle
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. ground — crushed
  15. row — a line
  16. chest — of your body
  17. firm — steady
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. ground — the earth
  22. court — of law
  23. kick — in football
  24. court — of a king

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