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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. root — the cause
  5. root — of a word
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. last — final
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. branch — a division
  10. wound — an injury
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. kid — to tease
  14. last — to go on
  15. wound — an injury
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. last — finally
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. root — of a plant

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