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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 116 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 giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. mug — a face
  3. mug — to rob
  4. court — of law
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. scale — size or range
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. scale — in music
  11. cold — not warm
  12. wound — an injury
  13. court — for sport
  14. deal — to handle
  15. pound — a weight
  16. mug — a cup
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. cold — an illness
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. wound — an injury
  22. court — of a king
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. pound — for dogs

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