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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. scale — in music
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. scale — size or range
  6. staff — employees
  7. current — electric
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. net — for catching
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. net — after costs
  12. net — in sport
  13. kid — to tease
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. staff — employees
  17. kid — child
  18. current — happening now
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. current — of water
  23. staff — a stick
  24. deal — to handle

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