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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. land — to come down
  3. game — wild animals
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. row — a line
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. wind — moving air
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — to paddle
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. land — ground
  15. land — a country
  16. cap — a lid
  17. game — a match
  18. wind — moving air
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cap — a hat
  23. dip — to sink
  24. cabinet — ministers

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