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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. ball — a great time
  6. ball — a dance
  7. march — the month
  8. tube — the underground
  9. march — music
  10. fine — all right
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. chest — a box
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. fine — high quality
  18. chest — of your body
  19. tube — a container
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. chest — of your body
  22. march — the month
  23. kid — child
  24. bat — for baseball

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