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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 did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. kid — child
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. cold — not warm
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. kid — to tease
  9. degree — temperature
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. cold — an illness
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. degree — an amount
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. lie — to recline
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. degree — from a university

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