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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. court — of a king
  4. kid — child
  5. bat — the animal
  6. charge — in control
  7. fall — to drop
  8. court — of law
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. charge — a price
  12. dip — to sink
  13. fall — to drop
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. kid — to tease
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. ground — the earth
  18. charge — electricity
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. fall — the season
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. ground — a position
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. court — for sport

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