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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.

Make a worksheet

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: pitcher · court · calf · file · patient · rule · ball · perch

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. file — a tool
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. court — of law
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. rule — a law
  10. perch — the fish
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. ball — a great time
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. court — of a king
  15. rule — government
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. file — a document
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. file — a line of people
  24. court — for sport

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