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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. spell — a short time
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. court — of a king
  6. degree — temperature
  7. spell — magic
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — a phone
  11. craft — boats
  12. court — of law
  13. craft — a skill
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. degree — from a university
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. rock — music
  18. rush — hurry
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. rock — a stone
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. spell — letters
  23. degree — an amount
  24. cell — in biology

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