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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 120 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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — after costs
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. snap — to click
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. kid — to tease
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. net — for catching
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. kid — child
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. calf — of the leg

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