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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. kid — child
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. track — a path
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. swing — in golf
  9. track — a song
  10. hand — in cards
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. track — to keep track
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bark — to shout
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. swing — to play on
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. swing — music

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