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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. degree — from a university
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. last — to go on
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. degree — temperature
  11. press — newspapers
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. last — final
  15. press — to push
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. chest — a box
  18. degree — an amount
  19. kick — in football
  20. press — a publisher
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. chest — of your body
  23. pitch — completely
  24. last — finally

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