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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. drill — the tool
  3. court — of law
  4. present — the time now
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. court — of a king
  9. fall — to drop
  10. land — ground
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. court — for sport
  14. drill — a practice
  15. present — a gift
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. drill — army training
  19. tube — a container
  20. land — a country
  21. present — there
  22. tube — the underground
  23. fall — the season
  24. fall — to drop

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