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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. saw — the tool
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. net — for catching
  7. march — the month
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. court — of a king
  11. last — to go on
  12. march — the month
  13. wound — an injury
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. net — after costs
  16. squash — the sport
  17. squash — to crush
  18. march — music
  19. court — of law
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. last — finally
  22. last — final
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. court — for sport

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