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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 120 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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. net — in sport
  4. kid — child
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. net — for catching
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. face — to confront
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. face — part of the head
  13. pitch — completely
  14. court — for sport
  15. net — after costs
  16. court — of a king
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. court — of law
  21. face — to point toward
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. kid — to tease
  24. sharp — clever

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