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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: clip · kid · rush · cold · mouse · club · calf · court

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. court — of law
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. kid — to tease
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. clip — for paper
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. club — for dancing
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — not warm
  13. clip — to cut
  14. court — for sport
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. rush — hurry
  17. clip — a video
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. cold — an illness
  20. club — a group
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. club — for golf
  24. kid — child

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