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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. club — for golf
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. club — for dancing
  6. bound — certain
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. shower — to wash
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. game — a match
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. court — of a king
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. bound — obliged
  16. shower — rain
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — wild animals
  19. bound — tied together
  20. kick — in football
  21. court — of law
  22. club — a group
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. wax — to grow

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