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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. court — of a king
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. court — for sport
  5. band — a ring
  6. court — of law
  7. band — a music group
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. cold — an illness
  10. board — a committee
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. mark — a trace
  14. row — a line
  15. mark — a grade
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. row — to paddle
  20. deal — to handle
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. board — to get on

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