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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 giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. court — of law
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. spell — letters
  5. court — of a king
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. scale — size or range
  8. tear — to rip
  9. chip — for betting
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. tube — the underground
  12. tube — a container
  13. tear — from crying
  14. squash — the sport
  15. court — for sport
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — to crush
  18. spell — a short time
  19. tear — from crying
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. spell — magic
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. chip — to eat
  24. scale — in music

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