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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: cold · club · tear · ground · court · bear · mouse · calf

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. cold — an illness
  5. ground — the earth
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. court — of law
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bear — the animal
  14. club — a group
  15. club — for golf
  16. court — for sport
  17. ground — a position
  18. tear — to rip
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. ground — crushed
  21. club — for dancing
  22. cold — not warm
  23. court — of a king
  24. tear — from crying

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