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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. chip — to eat
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. wax — to grow
  5. chip — for betting
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. face — to confront
  10. snap — to click
  11. court — for sport
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. chest — a box
  17. court — of a king
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. face — part of the head
  23. face — to point toward
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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