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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. mark — a grade
  5. degree — an amount
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. degree — from a university
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. chip — to eat
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. degree — temperature
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. mark — a trace
  18. row — a line
  19. row — to paddle
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. chip — for betting
  24. wound — an injury

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