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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 giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — to trim
  4. court — of a king
  5. band — a music group
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. game — wild animals
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — to wash
  14. band — a ring
  15. court — for sport
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. court — of law
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. game — a match
  24. deal — to handle

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