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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. present — a gift
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. snap — to click
  7. court — of law
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. present — there
  11. ground — the earth
  12. bat — the animal
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bound — certain
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. court — for sport
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bound — tied together
  21. ground — a position
  22. present — the time now
  23. court — of a king
  24. mine — for digging

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