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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. court — for sport
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. spell — letters
  8. field — a subject
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. spell — magic
  11. court — of a king
  12. spell — a short time
  13. rock — a stone
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — farmland
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. court — of law
  21. shower — to wash
  22. snap — to click
  23. rock — music
  24. pitcher — a jug

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