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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 116 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 protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. spring — a coil
  4. court — for sport
  5. spell — a short time
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — of law
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. spring — the season
  14. wax — to grow
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. spring — of water
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. spell — magic
  24. spell — letters

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