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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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. pit — in a race
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. cell — in biology
  6. tube — the underground
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a match
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. sharp — clever
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. march — the month
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. march — the month
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cell — a phone
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. tube — a container
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pit — a hole
  24. march — 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