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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. scale — size or range
  4. suit — to fit
  5. spring — a coil
  6. land — to come down
  7. suit — in cards
  8. kid — child
  9. land — ground
  10. land — a country
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. spring — the season
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. scale — in music
  18. kid — to tease
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. suit — clothes
  24. calf — a young animal

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