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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: wave · bay · club · court · calf · board · kid · ground

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. club — for golf
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. board — a committee
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. kid — child
  10. court — for sport
  11. club — for dancing
  12. ground — crushed
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. club — a group
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. board — to get on
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. ground — a position
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — of law
  24. ground — the earth

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