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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. hand — help
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. land — a country
  6. chest — a box
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. firm — steady
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. track — a song
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. hand — in cards
  14. chest — of your body
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. firm — decided
  17. land — to come down
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. track — a path
  20. land — ground
  21. firm — a company
  22. track — to keep track
  23. wind — moving air
  24. chest — of your body

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