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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 124 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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. rule — government
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. court — of a king
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. rule — a law
  10. court — for sport
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. shower — rain
  14. stock — shares
  15. spell — magic
  16. stock — goods
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. spell — a short time
  20. shower — to wash
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. spell — letters

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