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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. kid — child
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. season — of the year
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. season — in sport
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. tear — from crying
  13. kid — to tease
  14. tube — a container
  15. tear — to rip
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. tear — from crying
  20. key — the most important part
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. tube — the underground
  23. key — for a lock
  24. bat — for baseball

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