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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 protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. scale — in music
  3. lean — to bend
  4. scale — size or range
  5. roll — a cake
  6. fine — all right
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. lean — thin
  10. file — a tool
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. net — in sport
  13. roll — a list
  14. fine — high quality
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. file — a line of people
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. bore — to tire
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. net — after costs
  22. bore — to drill
  23. file — a document
  24. net — for catching

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