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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 116 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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. file — a tool
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — in cards
  8. cell — in biology
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. scale — size or range
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. file — a document
  18. hand — help
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. file — a line of people
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. mine — for digging
  24. scale — in music

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