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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 116 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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. present — there
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. present — the time now
  5. wound — an injury
  6. court — for sport
  7. fall — the season
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. cap — a lid
  10. club — a group
  11. cap — a hat
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. court — of law
  15. field — a subject
  16. cap — of ice
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — to drop
  19. field — for sport
  20. present — a gift
  21. field — farmland
  22. court — of a king
  23. club — for dancing
  24. wound — an injury

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