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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. court — of law
  6. season — in sport
  7. stand — to bear
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. court — of a king
  10. file — a document
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. court — for sport
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. season — of the year
  19. perch — the fish
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mark — a grade
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. file — a line of people

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