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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 did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. wax — to grow
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. spring — a coil
  11. shower — to wash
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. spring — the season
  14. shower — rain
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. kid — to tease
  17. spring — of water
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. mouse — the 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