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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. bank — for money
  3. kid — child
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. bank — for money
  7. degree — temperature
  8. chest — a box
  9. bank — of a river
  10. bat — the animal
  11. degree — an amount
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. scale — in music
  17. degree — from a university
  18. chest — of your body
  19. scale — size or range
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. kid — to tease

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