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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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Word bank
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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: land · court · net · wound · calf · fall · can · pop

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. net — after costs
  4. pop — soda
  5. fall — to drop
  6. court — of law
  7. land — to come down
  8. can — to be able to
  9. wound — an injury
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. land — ground
  12. fall — to drop
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. court — of a king
  15. pop — to visit
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. net — in sport
  18. net — for catching
  19. pop — music
  20. land — a country
  21. fall — the season
  22. can — a tin
  23. court — for sport
  24. can — a tin

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