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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 · court · object · row · rest · pound · fork · cold

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. rest — a break
  3. object — an aim
  4. row — a line
  5. object — a thing
  6. court — of a king
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. object — to protest
  9. rest — what's left
  10. fork — in a road
  11. cold — an illness
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pound — a weight
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. row — to paddle
  20. rest — what's left
  21. court — for sport
  22. court — of law
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. cold — the Cold War

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