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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. net — in sport
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. rock — a stone
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. cell — a phone
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. degree — from a university
  16. net — for catching
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. deal — to handle
  19. degree — temperature
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. net — after costs
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. cell — in biology
  24. degree — an amount

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