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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. 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. bowl — a football final
  2. tear — from crying
  3. field — for sport
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. field — a subject
  6. bound — certain
  7. court — of a king
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. ball — a dance
  10. field — farmland
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. court — of law
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. court — for sport
  16. ball — a great time
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bound — obliged
  19. hand — in cards
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tear — from crying
  22. hand — help
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. 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