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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 120 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. court — for sport
  3. sharp — clever
  4. bear — the animal
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. rock — a stone
  8. cell — a phone
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. bear — the animal
  11. court — of a king
  12. race — a contest
  13. court — of law
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. race — humankind
  16. pound — a weight
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. race — the arms race
  19. cell — in biology
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. pound — for dogs

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