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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. cold — an illness
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. stand — to bear
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. kid — child
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. ball — a dance
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. cold — not warm
  16. chest — of your body
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. kid — to tease
  19. root — the cause
  20. chest — a box
  21. root — of a word
  22. root — of a plant
  23. chest — of your body
  24. ball — a great time

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