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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. season — of the year
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. ground — a position
  5. squash — the sport
  6. mine — for digging
  7. season — in sport
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. ball — a dance
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. kid — to tease
  14. deal — to handle
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ball — a great time
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. squash — to crush
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. ground — crushed
  24. kid — child

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