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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. court — of a king
  3. file — a document
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. drill — a practice
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. last — to go on
  13. file — a line of people
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. cue — a signal
  16. last — final
  17. court — for sport
  18. drill — army training
  19. court — of law
  20. file — a tool
  21. drill — the tool
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. last — finally
  24. cue — for pool

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