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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. suit — in cards
  3. court — of a king
  4. court — for sport
  5. suit — to fit
  6. root — the cause
  7. wind — moving air
  8. clip — for paper
  9. mate — a friend
  10. mate — a partner
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. root — of a word
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — a video
  19. court — of law
  20. root — of a plant
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. suit — clothes
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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