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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. mine — for digging
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. charge — electricity
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. chest — of your body
  8. kick — in football
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. ball — a great time
  14. chest — of your body
  15. band — a music group
  16. charge — in control
  17. charge — a price
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. chest — a box
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. band — a ring
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. patient — a sick person

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