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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. court — for sport
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. game — a match
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. mug — a cup
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. mug — a face
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. sharp — clever
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. mug — to rob
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. fork — in a road
  20. court — of law
  21. court — of a king
  22. game — wild animals
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. game — a kind of play

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