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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. sharp — clever
  4. ground — crushed
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. row — to paddle
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. kid — child
  12. bat — the animal
  13. row — a line
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. cap — of ice
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. ground — the earth
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. ground — a position
  22. cap — a lid
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. cap — a hat

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