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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. net — in sport
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. club — for golf
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. net — for catching
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. game — a match
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. club — a group
  19. club — for dancing
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. plane — a tool
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. net — after costs
  24. bat — the animal

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