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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. 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. court — for sport
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. chest — of your body
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. court — of law
  8. rash — a series
  9. chest — a box
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. wake — a trail
  12. mine — for digging
  13. rash — hasty
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. 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