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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. scale — in music
  3. court — for sport
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. stem — to come from
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. board — a committee
  18. scale — size or range
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. pitch — completely
  21. court — of a king
  22. board — to get on
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. scale — for weighing

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