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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. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. charge — in control
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. court — of law
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. last — to go on
  9. charge — electricity
  10. snap — to click
  11. last — finally
  12. cold — an illness
  13. spring — the season
  14. charge — a price
  15. cold — not warm
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. last — final
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. court — of a king
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — a coil
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. hide — animal skin

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