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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 116 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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. fine — all right
  4. object — to protest
  5. root — of a word
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. rush — hurry
  8. object — an aim
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. root — of a plant
  12. object — a thing
  13. bat — the animal
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. root — the cause
  17. wound — an injury
  18. kick — in football
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. wound — an injury
  24. fine — high quality

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