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

Word bank: calf · date · bear · mark · lash · cold · court · snap

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. cold — an illness
  3. court — of a king
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. bear — the animal
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. snap — to click
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. mark — a grade
  11. cold — not warm
  12. mark — a trace
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. court — for sport
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. bear — the animal
  18. court — of law
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. date — the fruit

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