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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. net — after costs
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. bat — the animal
  7. kid — to tease
  8. net — for catching
  9. squash — the sport
  10. cap — a hat
  11. present — there
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. present — the time now
  14. kick — in football
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cap — a lid
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. present — a gift
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. net — in sport
  22. squash — to crush
  23. kid — child
  24. kick — with a leg

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