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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. court — of a king
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. current — of water
  7. root — of a plant
  8. shower — to wash
  9. hand — help
  10. court — of law
  11. cold — not warm
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. current — happening now
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. root — the cause
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. court — for sport
  19. current — electric
  20. fine — high quality
  21. fine — all right
  22. hand — in cards
  23. shower — rain
  24. root — of a word

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