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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. bat — the animal
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. spell — a short time
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. kid — child
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. branch — a division
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. spell — letters
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. spell — magic

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