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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: key · cold · court · kick · field · pop · calf · date

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. pop — to visit
  3. key — the most important part
  4. court — of law
  5. pop — soda
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. field — a subject
  8. cold — an illness
  9. field — for sport
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. key — for a lock
  14. court — for sport
  15. key — in music
  16. court — of a king
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. date — the fruit
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. cold — not warm
  21. field — farmland
  22. pop — music
  23. kick — in football
  24. kick — with a leg

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