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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: kick · net · bear · fall · squash · court · rule · kid

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. court — of law
  3. fall — to drop
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. court — of a king
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. net — in sport
  8. kid — to tease
  9. fall — to drop
  10. squash — the sport
  11. net — for catching
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. rule — government
  14. rule — a law
  15. kick — in football
  16. net — after costs
  17. squash — to crush
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — the animal
  22. court — for sport
  23. fall — the season
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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