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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 116 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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. rest — a break
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. rest — what's left
  5. land — a country
  6. ground — crushed
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. land — ground
  14. land — to come down
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. rest — what's left
  17. bat — the animal
  18. ground — a position

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