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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. ground — a position
  3. tear — from crying
  4. ground — the earth
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — a phone
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. fork — in a road
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. lean — to bend
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. lean — thin
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. ground — crushed
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tear — from crying
  20. cell — in biology
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. tube — a container
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. tube — the underground

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