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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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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. rule — government
  5. mine — for digging
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. degree — from a university
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. degree — an amount
  12. court — for sport
  13. degree — temperature
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. court — of law
  16. rule — a law
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. calf — a young animal

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