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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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468
Word bank
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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. row — to paddle
  7. cold — an illness
  8. court — of a king
  9. kick — in football
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. court — for sport
  14. cold — not warm
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bark — to shout
  18. row — a line
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. court — of law
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. wind — to turn a key

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