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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 did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. scale — size or range
  3. kid — to tease
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. kid — child
  10. bound — certain
  11. board — a committee
  12. scale — in music
  13. bound — tied together
  14. board — to get on
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. race — a contest
  18. bound — obliged
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. race — the arms race
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — an illness
  23. race — humankind
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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