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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 protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. root — of a word
  4. bound — certain
  5. bat — the animal
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. root — of a plant
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. snap — to click
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. pitch — completely
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. bound — tied together
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. bound — obliged
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. root — the cause

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