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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. can — to be able to
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. degree — from a university
  12. can — a tin
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. bat — the animal
  15. court — of a king
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. degree — an amount
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. court — of law
  20. can — a tin
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. degree — temperature
  24. fan — to cool the air

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