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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. dip — to sink
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. fork — in a road
  5. clip — a video
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. court — of law
  9. hand — in cards
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. ball — a great time
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. clip — for paper
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. court — for sport
  18. clip — to cut
  19. ball — a dance
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. perch — the fish
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. court — of a king

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