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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. court — of a king
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. drill — army training
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. shower — rain
  10. drill — the tool
  11. cold — not warm
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. cold — an illness
  14. court — for sport
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. court — of law
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. drill — a practice
  24. calf — a young animal

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