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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. spell — letters
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. chest — a box
  8. hand — help
  9. object — an aim
  10. kid — to tease
  11. pass — a permit
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. chest — of your body
  14. object — to protest
  15. hand — in cards
  16. spell — a short time
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. kid — child
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. spell — magic
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. foot — a measure

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