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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 124 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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. rock — music
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — an illness
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. charge — in control
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of law
  10. charge — electricity
  11. court — of a king
  12. rock — a stone
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. charge — a price
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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