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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 giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. pound — a weight
  3. drill — army training
  4. chest — of your body
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. rash — hasty
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. drill — a practice
  9. board — a committee
  10. drill — the tool
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. chest — a box
  14. rash — a series
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. hand — help
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. board — to get on
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. chest — of your body
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. date — the fruit
  24. hand — in cards

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