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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. degree — an amount
  3. roll — a cake
  4. cap — a hat
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. degree — temperature
  7. stand — to bear
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. wind — moving air
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. roll — a list
  13. hand — help
  14. degree — from a university
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cap — of ice
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. cap — a lid
  20. hand — in cards
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. stand — for spectators

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