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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. spell — letters
  4. ground — the earth
  5. kid — child
  6. band — a ring
  7. degree — an amount
  8. spell — a short time
  9. band — a music group
  10. ground — crushed
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. staff — employees
  14. staff — a stick
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. staff — employees
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. degree — temperature
  20. ground — a position
  21. spell — magic
  22. kid — to tease
  23. degree — from a university
  24. cabinet — ministers

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