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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. mate — a friend
  5. pound — a weight
  6. fall — the season
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. fall — to drop
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. mate — a partner
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. fall — to drop
  18. mate — to breed
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. kid — child
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. calf — a young animal

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