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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. season — of the year
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. net — in sport
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. kid — child
  13. net — after costs
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. season — in sport
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. sharp — clever
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. net — for catching
  23. kid — to tease
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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