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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cold — an illness
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. tube — a container
  6. tube — the underground
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. court — for sport
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. cold — not warm
  16. wound — an injury
  17. court — of law
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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