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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: wind · board · tear · calf · cell · fall · court · staff

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. tear — from crying
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. court — of law
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. fall — to drop
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. board — a committee
  9. cell — in biology
  10. wind — moving air
  11. staff — a stick
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. tear — from crying
  14. board — to get on
  15. court — for sport
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cell — a phone
  18. fall — the season
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. tear — to rip
  21. court — of a king
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. staff — employees
  24. staff — employees

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