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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. band — a ring
  4. net — for catching
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. lean — to bend
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. cold — an illness
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. cold — not warm
  15. net — after costs
  16. scale — in music
  17. net — in sport
  18. scale — size or range
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. lean — thin
  22. dip — to sink
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. scale — for weighing

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