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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 protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. mine — for digging
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cell — in biology
  7. swing — music
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. rush — hurry
  10. swing — in golf
  11. squash — the sport
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. rock — a stone
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. cell — a phone
  18. swing — to play on
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. squash — to crush
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. rock — music
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. rush — to hurry

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