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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. chest — a box
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. bat — the animal
  10. pit — a hole
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. chest — of your body
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — employees
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. pit — in a race
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. mine — for digging
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. staff — a stick
  24. calf — a young animal

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