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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 was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. rest — a break
  4. court — of a king
  5. game — wild animals
  6. rest — what's left
  7. drill — the tool
  8. fall — the season
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. court — of law
  13. drill — a practice
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. rest — what's left
  17. cell — in biology
  18. game — a match
  19. court — for sport
  20. cell — a phone
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. drill — army training
  24. leaves — of a tree

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