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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. rule — a law
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — for sport
  6. hand — help
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. spring — of water
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. sharp — clever
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. spring — the season
  16. mine — for digging
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. spring — a coil
  21. court — of law
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. rule — government

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