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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. net — in sport
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. charge — in control
  5. net — for catching
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. net — after costs
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. land — a country
  12. hand — in cards
  13. row — a line
  14. charge — electricity
  15. land — ground
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. hand — help
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. fork — in a road
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. charge — a price
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — to paddle

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