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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. perch — the fish
  3. degree — an amount
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — temperature
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. pitch — completely
  14. date — the fruit
  15. wake — a trail
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. pound — a weight
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. perch — for a bird

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