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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. court — of a king
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. drill — army training
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. pound — a weight
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. squash — to crush
  12. drill — a practice
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. hand — help
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to bend
  17. court — for sport
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. rule — government
  20. squash — the sport
  21. hand — in cards
  22. court — of law
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. drill — the tool

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