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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. pop — to visit
  7. court — of law
  8. firm — a company
  9. firm — decided
  10. wind — moving air
  11. capital — money
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cell — in biology
  15. firm — steady
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. pop — music
  18. capital — a city
  19. court — for sport
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. cell — a phone
  22. pop — soda
  23. snap — to click
  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