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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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. ball — a great time
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. ball — a dance
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. tube — a container
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. tube — the underground
  18. dip — to sink
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. game — a match
  21. bat — the animal
  22. game — wild animals
  23. prune — to trim
  24. calf — of the leg

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