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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. court — of law
  4. ground — a position
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — clever
  9. court — of a king
  10. ground — crushed
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — of water
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wind — moving air
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. mug — a face
  19. mug — a cup
  20. ground — the earth
  21. wind — moving air
  22. court — for sport
  23. spring — the season
  24. mug — to rob

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