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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: cold · sharp · court · craft · root · tube · fan · calf

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  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. sharp — exactly
  2. court — for sport
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. craft — boats
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. tube — a container
  11. root — of a word
  12. craft — a skill
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. court — of a king
  16. sharp — clever
  17. root — the cause
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — not warm
  23. root — of a plant
  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