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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — help
  4. march — music
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. ball — a dance
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. march — the month
  9. hand — in cards
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. roll — a cake
  12. ball — a great time
  13. roll — a list
  14. court — of a king
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. land — ground
  18. court — for sport
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. land — a country
  21. march — the month
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. land — to come down

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