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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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. spring — a coil
  4. kid — to tease
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. chip — for betting
  10. spring — of water
  11. kid — child
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. bat — the animal
  17. band — a ring
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. date — the fruit
  20. chip — to eat
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — clever
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. spring — the season

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