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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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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. net — after costs
  3. bound — certain
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. net — in sport
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bound — obliged
  9. kid — to tease
  10. net — for catching
  11. kid — child
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bound — tied together
  15. chest — a box
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. chest — of your body
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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