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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 120 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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. staff — a stick
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. degree — temperature
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. staff — employees
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. hand — in cards
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. spell — a short time
  14. hand — help
  15. mug — a cup
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. spell — letters
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. staff — employees
  20. spell — magic
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — from a university
  24. mug — to rob

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