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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. rush — hurry
  3. bat — the animal
  4. court — for sport
  5. file — a document
  6. court — of a king
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. court — of law
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. pop — to visit
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. pop — music
  15. pop — soda
  16. file — a tool
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. file — a line of people
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. wind — moving air

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