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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 protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. pit — a hole
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. net — after costs
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. band — a ring
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — in sport
  15. pit — in a race
  16. fork — in a road
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. branch — a division
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. band — a music group
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. mine — for digging

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