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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 116 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 did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. kid — child
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. ground — crushed
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. tear — from crying
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. tear — from crying
  14. game — wild animals
  15. tear — to rip
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. game — a match
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. ground — a position
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. ground — the earth

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