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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. court — of a king
  3. court — of law
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. net — in sport
  9. bat — the animal
  10. court — for sport
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. staff — employees
  14. net — for catching
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. chest — a box
  18. net — after costs
  19. staff — employees
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. staff — a stick
  22. bark — to shout
  23. chest — of your body
  24. leaves — lets stay

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