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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. court — of a king
  4. last — to go on
  5. chest — of your body
  6. court — of law
  7. chest — of your body
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — to cut
  10. last — finally
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. chest — a box
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. court — for sport
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bulb — for light
  21. fall — the season
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. clip — a video
  24. fall — to drop

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