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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. tube — the underground
  5. chair — a leader
  6. court — of law
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. hand — in cards
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. shower — rain
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. tube — a container
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. court — of a king
  20. wake — a trail
  21. pitch — completely
  22. hand — help
  23. shower — to wash
  24. wake — before a funeral

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