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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 116 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 need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. drill — the tool
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. root — of a word
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. season — of the year
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. scale — in music
  13. root — of a plant
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bore — to tire
  16. drill — a practice
  17. wind — moving air
  18. season — in sport
  19. drill — army training
  20. root — the cause
  21. scale — size or range
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. wind — to turn a key

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