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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. ground — a position
  4. key — the most important part
  5. court — of a king
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. cold — an illness
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. present — the time now
  10. court — for sport
  11. lean — thin
  12. cold — not warm
  13. key — for a lock
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. ground — crushed
  16. lean — to bend
  17. present — there
  18. ground — the earth
  19. rock — music
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. key — in music
  23. court — of law
  24. rock — a stone

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