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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. degree — temperature
  4. mine — for digging
  5. land — to come down
  6. sharp — clever
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. swing — to play on
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. swing — music
  12. hand — help
  13. swing — in golf
  14. charge — a price
  15. hand — in cards
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. charge — in control
  18. degree — from a university
  19. charge — electricity
  20. degree — an amount
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. land — ground
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. land — a country

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