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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: board · pitcher · clip · calf · ground · court · wound · wave

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. ground — the earth
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. ground — crushed
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. clip — for paper
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — to cut
  15. court — of a king
  16. court — for sport
  17. board — a committee
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. court — of law
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. ground — a position
  24. board — to get on

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