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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 giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. band — a music group
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. branch — a division
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. scale — in music
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. scale — size or range
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. band — a ring
  20. row — to paddle
  21. wake — a trail
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. chair — a leader
  24. row — a line

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