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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 124 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 protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. ground — a position
  3. cap — of ice
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. game — wild animals
  6. ground — crushed
  7. ground — the earth
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. stand — to bear
  11. spring — a coil
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. cap — a hat
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. ball — a dance
  16. cap — a lid
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. spring — of water
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. spring — the season
  22. game — a match
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. ball — a great time

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