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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 did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. mate — to breed
  4. can — a tin
  5. can — to be able to
  6. kid — to tease
  7. mate — a partner
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. bore — to drill
  12. chip — to eat
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. kid — child
  15. bore — to tire
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. mate — a friend
  18. can — a tin
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. chip — for betting
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. chip — in a computer

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