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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. court — of a king
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. court — of law
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. sharp — clever
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bat — the animal
  12. fall — to drop
  13. court — for sport
  14. spell — magic
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. spell — a short time
  18. band — a ring
  19. band — a music group
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. fall — the season
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. sharp — with an edge

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