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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. court — of law
  4. court — for sport
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. fine — high quality
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — in cards
  17. fine — all right
  18. deal — to handle
  19. court — of a king
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — an illness
  22. track — to keep track
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. track — a song

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