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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.

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: hide · drill · court · calf · trunk · bat · perch · band

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. drill — a practice
  3. drill — army training
  4. band — a music group
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. court — of a king
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. perch — the fish
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. court — of law
  19. band — a ring
  20. drill — the tool
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — for a bird

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