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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 124 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. season — in sport
  4. track — a song
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. court — for sport
  7. wind — moving air
  8. track — a path
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. court — of a king
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. wind — moving air
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. track — to keep track
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. pitch — completely
  19. deal — to handle
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. court — of law
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. calf — a young animal

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