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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. shower — to wash
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. dip — to sink
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. craft — a skill
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. shower — rain
  14. court — of law
  15. spell — magic
  16. spell — letters
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. spell — a short time
  20. court — of a king
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. craft — boats
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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