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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · calf · bowl · kid · stem · kick

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. wind — moving air
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — child
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. wind — moving air
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. stem — to come from
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kick — in football

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