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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 giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. court — of law
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. bark — to shout
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. wind — moving air
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. mine — for digging
  16. court — for sport
  17. hand — help
  18. kick — in football
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. bat — the animal
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. court — of a king

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