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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. track — a song
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. mate — a partner
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. fine — high quality
  10. mine — for digging
  11. track — a path
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. mate — to breed
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. fine — all right
  23. mate — a friend
  24. track — to keep track

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