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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 124 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 did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. court — of law
  3. last — finally
  4. kid — child
  5. mate — a friend
  6. track — a path
  7. last — final
  8. last — to go on
  9. date — the fruit
  10. track — a song
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. kid — to tease
  15. track — to keep track
  16. mate — to breed
  17. court — of a king
  18. mate — a partner
  19. saw — the tool
  20. court — for sport
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. saw — the tool

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