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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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Word bank
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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 protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. bound — tied together
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. bound — certain
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. vault — a safe
  9. wind — moving air
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. board — a committee
  12. mine — for digging
  13. bound — obliged
  14. kid — to tease
  15. board — to get on
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cold — not warm
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. cold — an illness
  22. kid — child
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. calf — a young animal

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