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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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468
Word bank
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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  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. race — a contest
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. snap — to click
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. race — the arms race
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. swing — to play on
  10. swing — music
  11. swing — in golf
  12. mine — for digging
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. race — humankind
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. stand — to bear
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  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