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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. court — of law
  3. bass — low music
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. court — for sport
  6. bat — the animal
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. bound — certain
  9. bound — tied together
  10. land — to come down
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. bass — the fish
  15. content — the amount
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. land — ground
  18. content — happy
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. court — of a king
  21. land — a country
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bound — obliged
  24. calf — a young animal

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