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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 124 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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. kid — to tease
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. cold — not warm
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. ball — a dance
  13. cold — an illness
  14. stem — to come from
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. bound — tied together
  18. ball — a great time
  19. chip — to eat
  20. bound — obliged
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. bound — certain
  23. chip — for betting
  24. cold — the Cold War

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