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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 giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  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. calf — a young animal
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. degree — an amount
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. net — for catching
  7. tube — the underground
  8. mine — for digging
  9. drill — a practice
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. degree — from a university
  12. drill — the tool
  13. chip — for betting
  14. march — the month
  15. net — after costs
  16. march — the month
  17. drill — army training
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. chip — to eat
  20. march — music
  21. net — in sport
  22. tube — a container
  23. mine — an explosive
  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