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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. tear — to rip
  4. degree — from a university
  5. cell — in biology
  6. row — a line
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. chip — to eat
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cell — a phone
  13. degree — an amount
  14. chip — for betting
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. degree — temperature
  19. tear — from crying
  20. row — to paddle
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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