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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 120 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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. mate — a partner
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. mate — a friend
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — of law
  7. can — a tin
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. can — to be able to
  11. ground — the earth
  12. cell — a phone
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. ground — a position
  16. cell — in biology
  17. court — for sport
  18. can — a tin
  19. ground — crushed
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. mate — to breed
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. calf — a young animal

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