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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. pop — soda
  8. chest — of your body
  9. press — a publisher
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. court — of law
  12. date — the fruit
  13. pop — to visit
  14. vault — a safe
  15. hand — help
  16. chest — a box
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. press — to push
  19. hand — in cards
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. pop — music
  24. press — newspapers

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