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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. court — for sport
  3. staff — employees
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. court — of a king
  7. content — the amount
  8. staff — a stick
  9. chest — of your body
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. swing — to play on
  12. staff — employees
  13. swing — music
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. content — happy
  17. chest — of your body
  18. swing — in golf
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. court — of law
  22. chest — a box
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — a phone

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