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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. saw — the tool
  3. rash — a series
  4. court — for sport
  5. land — to come down
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. court — of law
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. rash — hasty
  14. court — of a king
  15. deal — to handle
  16. land — a country
  17. saw — the tool
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. land — ground
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. shower — to wash
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. chair — a leader
  24. shower — rain

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