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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. mark — a grade
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. mark — a trace
  8. clip — for paper
  9. chest — a box
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. degree — temperature
  12. fall — to drop
  13. degree — from a university
  14. clip — to cut
  15. chest — of your body
  16. clip — a video
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. chest — of your body
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. deal — to handle
  23. degree — an amount
  24. deal — an agreement

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