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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: court · bulb · bark · straw · kick · wound · calf · pitcher

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. court — of a king
  3. kick — in football
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. bulb — for light
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. bulb — for light
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. court — for sport
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. court — of law

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