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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. court — of law
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. drill — the tool
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. drill — a practice
  12. shower — rain
  13. court — of a king
  14. wound — an injury
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. mate — to breed
  17. cell — in biology
  18. drill — army training
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. mate — a friend
  23. court — for sport
  24. mate — a partner

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