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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 116 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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. kid — to tease
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. degree — an amount
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. degree — from a university
  7. stand — to bear
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. fork — in a road
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. kid — child
  12. march — the month
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. degree — temperature
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. march — the month
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. march — music
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — in cards

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