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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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468
Word bank
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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 water is too ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. scale — size or range
  3. scale — in music
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. game — a match
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. net — after costs
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — an illness
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. net — in sport
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. kick — in football
  20. game — wild animals
  21. lean — to bend
  22. lean — thin
  23. net — for catching
  24. kick — with a leg

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