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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. land — a country
  3. ground — a position
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — an amount
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. bass — low music
  8. ground — crushed
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. fine — high quality
  11. cell — in biology
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. deal — to handle
  16. land — to come down
  17. bass — the fish
  18. degree — temperature
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. land — ground
  21. ground — the earth
  22. fine — all right
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. cell — a phone

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