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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. march — the month
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. lean — thin
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. hand — in cards
  15. roll — a list
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. march — music
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. march — the month
  20. bat — the animal
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. hand — help
  23. lean — to bend
  24. cabinet — ministers

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