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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. scale — size or range
  4. hand — in cards
  5. spring — a coil
  6. cap — a hat
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. scale — in music
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. hand — help
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. cap — a lid
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. mine — for digging
  16. cap — of ice
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. spring — of water
  19. season — in sport
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. lean — thin
  22. season — of the year
  23. lean — to bend
  24. spring — the season

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