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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. court — of a king
  3. season — of the year
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. cell — in biology
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. season — in sport
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. court — of law
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. court — for sport
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. cell — a phone
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. game — a match
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. game — wild animals

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