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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 124 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 protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. bore — to tire
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. foot — a measure
  8. pop — soda
  9. pitch — completely
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. bore — to drill
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. pop — music
  17. pop — to visit
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. shower — to wash
  21. shower — rain
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — of the leg

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