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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. cap — of ice
  10. cap — a lid
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. mine — for digging
  13. cap — a hat
  14. bear — the animal
  15. land — ground
  16. bear — the animal
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. land — a country
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. land — to come down
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. kid — to tease
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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