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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. wound — an injury
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. wake — a trail
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — for sport
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. mine — for digging
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. wound — an injury
  15. degree — an amount
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. date — the fruit
  18. court — of law
  19. degree — from a university
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. degree — temperature
  24. date — on the calendar

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