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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: wound · chest · calf · toast · rest · pitcher · court · cold

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. rest — what's left
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. chest — a box
  5. cold — an illness
  6. rest — a break
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. chest — of your body
  9. court — of law
  10. court — of a king
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. court — for sport
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cold — not warm
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. wound — an injury
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. rest — what's left
  21. toast — bread
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. pitcher — a jug

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