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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. cue — a hint
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. wind — moving air
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. swing — in golf
  9. track — to keep track
  10. cue — a signal
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. cell — a phone
  14. object — to protest
  15. object — an aim
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. cell — in biology
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. cue — for pool
  20. swing — to play on
  21. track — a song
  22. track — a path
  23. pitch — completely
  24. swing — 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