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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. bank — for money
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. march — the month
  5. net — in sport
  6. bank — of a river
  7. wind — moving air
  8. net — for catching
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bound — certain
  12. bank — for money
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. net — after costs
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. spring — a coil
  17. march — the month
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. march — music
  20. spring — of water
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bat — the animal
  24. spring — the season

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