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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 120 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. hand — in cards
  4. court — of a king
  5. key — the most important part
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. track — a path
  9. court — for sport
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. court — of law
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. hand — help
  17. key — for a lock
  18. key — in music
  19. bark — to shout
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. track — to keep track
  22. track — a song
  23. season — of the year
  24. season — in sport

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