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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 giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  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. calf — a young animal
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. game — wild animals
  6. wax — to grow
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bat — the animal
  9. game — a match
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. degree — from a university
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. degree — temperature
  17. wax — in the ear
  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