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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. drill — a practice
  3. firm — a company
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. court — of law
  6. spell — letters
  7. tube — a container
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. tube — the underground
  10. firm — steady
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — the tool
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. court — of a king
  15. spell — a short time
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. spell — magic
  20. firm — decided
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. court — for sport
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — a young animal

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