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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. court — of law
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. chair — a leader
  8. court — for sport
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. wake — a trail
  11. pitch — completely
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. shower — rain
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. court — of a king
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. shower — to wash

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