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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. bat — the animal
  8. mine — for digging
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. fork — in a road
  13. chair — a leader
  14. hand — in cards
  15. hand — help
  16. last — final
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. last — to go on
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — for baseball

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