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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. ball — a great time
  4. fall — the season
  5. hand — in cards
  6. race — the arms race
  7. mate — a friend
  8. race — humankind
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. mate — a partner
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. fall — to drop
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. ball — a dance
  18. hand — help
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. kid — child
  21. mate — to breed
  22. fall — to drop
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. race — a contest

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