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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. court — for sport
  3. deal — to handle
  4. court — of law
  5. last — final
  6. last — finally
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. court — of a king
  10. tear — to rip
  11. swing — in golf
  12. tear — from crying
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. last — to go on
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — to crush
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. tear — from crying
  19. mine — for digging
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. swing — to play on
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. swing — music

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