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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  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. court — of law
  2. ball — a great time
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. court — for sport
  5. squash — to crush
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. ball — a dance
  8. court — of a king
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. object — to protest
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. wound — an injury
  14. object — a thing
  15. wound — an injury
  16. rule — government
  17. object — an aim
  18. rule — a law
  19. squash — the sport
  20. row — to paddle
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — a line
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  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