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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 did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. last — final
  4. fork — in a road
  5. firm — steady
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. firm — a company
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. degree — from a university
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. kid — child
  12. kid — to tease
  13. last — finally
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. firm — decided
  16. degree — an amount
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. degree — temperature
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. cold — an illness
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. last — to go on
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — not warm

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