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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 120 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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. present — the time now
  3. mug — a cup
  4. present — a gift
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. game — wild animals
  8. object — to protest
  9. mug — a face
  10. object — an aim
  11. capital — money
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — not warm
  14. kid — child
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. present — there
  19. capital — a city
  20. cold — an illness
  21. game — a match
  22. object — a thing
  23. kid — to tease
  24. mug — to rob

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