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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 giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. present — the time now
  3. race — humankind
  4. degree — an amount
  5. race — the arms race
  6. degree — temperature
  7. bat — the animal
  8. wind — moving air
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. present — a gift
  11. degree — from a university
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. wind — moving air
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. race — a contest
  17. present — there
  18. bat — for baseball

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