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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. cap — of ice
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. spell — magic
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. kick — in football
  8. spell — letters
  9. cap — a hat
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. squash — to crush
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. spell — a short time
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. cap — a lid
  24. straw — dry grass

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