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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. march — music
  4. court — of a king
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. field — a subject
  7. fork — in a road
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. field — farmland
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. kid — child
  13. court — for sport
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. field — for sport
  18. kid — to tease
  19. court — of law
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. kick — in football
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. mouse — the 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