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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fall · court · racket · kid · wind · calf

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. 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. racket — a loud noise
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. wind — moving air
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. fall — to drop
  8. court — for sport
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — child
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. court — of a king
  13. kid — to tease
  14. wind — moving air
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. court — of law
  18. 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