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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: bay · clip · mouse · cell · calf · kick · court · stick

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. clip — for paper
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. court — for sport
  10. clip — a video
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. court — of law
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. clip — to cut
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. kick — in football
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. court — of a king
  21. cell — in biology
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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