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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. kid — to tease
  4. pop — soda
  5. squash — to crush
  6. key — for a lock
  7. pop — to visit
  8. key — the most important part
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. squash — the sport
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. pop — music
  15. bat — the animal
  16. kid — child
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. key — in music
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. sharp — clever

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