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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. game — wild animals
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. squash — the sport
  7. date — the fruit
  8. branch — a division
  9. cold — an illness
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. cold — not warm
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. squash — to crush
  15. game — a match
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. kick — in football
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. saw — the tool

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