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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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. wind — moving air
  3. court — of law
  4. court — of a king
  5. drill — a practice
  6. kid — child
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. court — for sport
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. drill — army training
  12. fork — in a road
  13. wind — moving air
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. kid — to tease
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. drill — the tool
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. fan — to cool the air

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