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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. roll — a cake
  4. file — a tool
  5. hand — in cards
  6. chip — to eat
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. roll — a list
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. chip — for betting
  17. hand — help
  18. bat — the animal
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a document
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. hand — part of the body

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