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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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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. ball — a dance
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bore — to tire
  6. object — an aim
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to point toward
  9. object — to protest
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — the animal
  15. degree — from a university
  16. face — to confront
  17. ball — a great time
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. object — a thing
  21. bore — to drill
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. degree — an amount
  24. degree — temperature

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