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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. spring — the season
  3. can — a tin
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. can — to be able to
  6. can — a tin
  7. court — of a king
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cell — a phone
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. pass — a permit
  13. spring — of water
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — in cards
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. spring — a coil
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. court — of law
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. calf — a young animal

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