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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 · kick · ball · field · wound · court · content · kid

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. kid — to tease
  3. court — for sport
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. court — of a king
  9. wound — an injury
  10. field — a subject
  11. court — of law
  12. content — the amount
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — child
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. ball — a great time
  17. ball — a dance
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. content — happy
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. field — for sport
  23. kick — in football
  24. field — farmland

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