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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. cell — a phone
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. ball — a dance
  6. game — a match
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. drill — the tool
  9. season — of the year
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. season — in sport
  12. drill — a practice
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. ball — a great time
  16. game — wild animals
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. cell — in biology
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. net — for catching
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. net — in sport
  24. net — after costs

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