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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. court — for sport
  5. ground — the earth
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. chest — of your body
  8. object — a thing
  9. tear — from crying
  10. court — of law
  11. chest — of your body
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. object — to protest
  15. ball — a dance
  16. tear — to rip
  17. chest — a box
  18. tear — from crying
  19. object — an aim
  20. bass — the fish
  21. ground — a position
  22. court — of a king
  23. bass — low music
  24. calf — of the leg

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