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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. rest — what's left
  3. wind — moving air
  4. ground — crushed
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. rest — what's left
  7. ground — the earth
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. rest — a break
  12. ground — a position
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — ground
  15. ball — a dance
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. land — a country
  18. wind — moving air
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. ball — a great time
  24. wind — to turn a key

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