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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. tear — from crying
  5. degree — an amount
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. swing — to play on
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. swing — music
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. chest — a box
  16. pitch — completely
  17. swing — in golf
  18. tear — to rip
  19. degree — temperature
  20. court — of a king
  21. degree — from a university
  22. court — for sport
  23. tear — from crying
  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