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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. current — electric
  4. track — to keep track
  5. bat — the animal
  6. kid — to tease
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. track — a song
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. kid — child
  12. court — for sport
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — of law
  16. track — a path
  17. race — a contest
  18. current — happening now
  19. race — the arms race
  20. race — humankind
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. current — of water
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. leaves — of a tree

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