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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: hand · calf · court · spring · kid · squash · mug · game

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. squash — the sport
  3. hand — help
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. mug — a cup
  7. game — wild animals
  8. spring — of water
  9. kid — child
  10. court — for sport
  11. game — a match
  12. spring — a coil
  13. mug — to rob
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. hand — in cards
  16. court — of a king
  17. court — of law
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. kid — to tease
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. mug — a face
  23. squash — to crush
  24. spring — the season

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