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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. mug — to rob
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. squash — to crush
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. stock — goods
  11. bat — the animal
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. squash — the sport
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. mug — a face
  18. kid — to tease
  19. mug — a cup
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. stock — shares
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. kid — child
  24. perch — the fish

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