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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. net — after costs
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. pit — in a race
  7. tube — the underground
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. pit — a hole
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. tube — a container
  14. stem — to come from
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — an illness
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. cell — in biology
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — for catching
  24. bowl — to roll

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