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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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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: calf · swing · kid · court · ball · shower · stem · craft

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — child
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. swing — music
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. ball — a great time
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. court — of law
  9. shower — rain
  10. ball — a dance
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. swing — in golf
  13. craft — a skill
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. stem — to come from
  17. court — for sport
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. swing — to play on
  21. court — of a king
  22. craft — boats
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. calf — a young animal

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