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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 had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. chest — of your body
  3. sharp — clever
  4. file — a tool
  5. court — of law
  6. court — for sport
  7. can — a tin
  8. spring — of water
  9. staff — employees
  10. can — to be able to
  11. spring — a coil
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. court — of a king
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. spring — the season
  18. file — a line of people
  19. can — a tin
  20. file — a document
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. staff — a stick
  23. staff — employees
  24. sharp — exactly

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