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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 120 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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. track — a path
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. court — of law
  5. track — a song
  6. court — for sport
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. drill — army training
  11. march — music
  12. court — of a king
  13. track — to keep track
  14. bass — low music
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. drill — a practice
  17. bass — the fish
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. march — the month
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. march — the month
  23. sharp — clever
  24. drill — the tool

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