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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. toast — bread
  3. stem — to come from
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — the animal
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bore — to drill
  9. chest — of your body
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. tear — to rip
  21. chest — a box
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. pitcher — a jug

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