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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  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. land — ground
  3. chest — a box
  4. land — a country
  5. cold — an illness
  6. foot — a measure
  7. pop — music
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. land — to come down
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. pit — a hole
  15. ground — the earth
  16. pit — in a race
  17. ground — a position
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — of your body
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. pop — soda
  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