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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. shower — rain
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. court — for sport
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. shower — to wash
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. bass — the fish
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. march — music
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. bass — low music
  17. march — the month
  18. court — of a king
  19. dip — to sink
  20. march — the month
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. fan — a supporter

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