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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. rest — what's left
  3. chest — of your body
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. cold — an illness
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. bore — to tire
  12. rest — a break
  13. cold — not warm
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. bore — to drill
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. chest — a box
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. rest — what's left
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. calf — of the leg

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