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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 did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. land — a country
  3. land — ground
  4. snap — to click
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. spell — a short time
  7. pop — soda
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. mine — for digging
  10. pop — music
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. net — in sport
  13. spell — magic
  14. net — for catching
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. land — to come down
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. pop — to visit
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. spell — letters
  21. net — after costs
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. calf — of the 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