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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. bear — the animal
  8. board — to get on
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. kid — child
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. board — a committee
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. cold — not warm
  19. swing — music
  20. kid — to tease
  21. cold — an illness
  22. swing — in golf
  23. bear — the animal
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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