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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a line of people
  6. mate — a friend
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. bat — the animal
  9. file — a document
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. ground — the earth
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — obliged
  14. mate — to breed
  15. bound — tied together
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. ground — a position
  21. stem — to come from
  22. mate — a partner
  23. band — a music group
  24. ground — crushed

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