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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. land — to come down
  4. key — for a lock
  5. land — a country
  6. key — the most important part
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. kid — child
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. key — in music
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. land — ground
  15. fork — in a road
  16. kid — to tease
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. bat — the animal
  24. hand — in cards

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