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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. club — for golf
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. net — after costs
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. object — an aim
  9. object — to protest
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. track — a song
  12. track — to keep track
  13. last — to go on
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. club — for dancing
  17. last — finally
  18. club — a group
  19. net — in sport
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. object — a thing
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. net — for catching
  24. last — final

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