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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. wound — an injury
  3. stem — to come from
  4. fall — to drop
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. fall — to drop
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. firm — decided
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. firm — a company
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. firm — steady
  16. court — of law
  17. fall — the season
  18. court — of a king
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. wound — an injury
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. wind — moving air

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