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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 120 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. cap — of ice
  3. bark — to shout
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. charge — a price
  6. dip — to sink
  7. charge — electricity
  8. land — to come down
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. kid — child
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. cap — a lid
  19. land — a country
  20. land — ground
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. charge — in control
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. cap — a hat

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