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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: calf · pitcher · ground · court · bear · game · chair · content

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. game — a match
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. content — happy
  5. court — of a king
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. content — the amount
  8. chair — a leader
  9. ground — a position
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. game — wild animals
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. ground — the earth
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bear — the animal
  18. court — for sport
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. bear — the animal
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. court — of law
  23. ground — crushed
  24. calf — a young animal

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