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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. vault — a safe
  3. hand — in cards
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. hand — help
  7. face — part of the head
  8. kid — to tease
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. kid — child
  11. tube — a container
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. face — to point toward
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. cold — not warm
  19. face — to confront
  20. tube — the underground
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. cold — an illness

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