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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 120 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. kick — in football
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. mine — for digging
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. court — for sport
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. court — of a king
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. season — in sport
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. season — of the year
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. court — of law
  24. mine — an explosive

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