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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. court — of law
  7. court — for sport
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. object — to protest
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pitch — completely
  14. wound — an injury
  15. row — to paddle
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. object — an aim
  20. row — a line
  21. court — of a king
  22. wound — an injury
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. pitch — a sports field

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