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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. spell — magic
  4. spell — letters
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. scale — size or range
  7. rash — hasty
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. march — the month
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. march — the month
  14. kid — to tease
  15. spell — a short time
  16. board — to get on
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. scale — in music
  19. board — a committee
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. march — music
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. rash — a series

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