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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. last — final
  3. land — to come down
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. last — to go on
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. net — in sport
  9. swing — music
  10. swing — to play on
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. net — after costs
  13. kid — child
  14. bank — for money
  15. last — finally
  16. land — a country
  17. net — for catching
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. bank — of a river
  20. land — ground
  21. swing — in golf
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bank — for money

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