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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 116 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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. swing — music
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. land — ground
  5. spring — the season
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — to play on
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. present — there
  10. kid — to tease
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. kid — child
  14. spring — a coil
  15. ground — a position
  16. vault — a safe
  17. present — the time now
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. spring — of water
  20. present — a gift
  21. ground — crushed
  22. land — a country
  23. ground — the earth
  24. land — to come down

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