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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. tear — from crying
  3. chair — a leader
  4. band — a ring
  5. cell — in biology
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — for digging
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. tear — from crying
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. band — a music group
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. tear — to rip
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. lash — an eyelash

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