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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. board — to get on
  6. ball — a great time
  7. season — of the year
  8. chest — a box
  9. squash — the sport
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. ball — a dance
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — child
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. kid — to tease
  18. board — a committee
  19. squash — to crush
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. season — in sport
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — a phone

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