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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. chest — a box
  4. game — wild animals
  5. spell — magic
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — letters
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. degree — temperature
  13. track — a path
  14. track — to keep track
  15. track — a song
  16. degree — from a university
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. degree — an amount

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