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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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Word bank
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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: calf · bat · pitcher · spring · wound · pop · chair · game

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pop — music
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. spring — the season
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. chair — a leader
  14. bat — the animal
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. game — wild animals
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pop — to visit
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. pop — soda
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. spring — of water
  24. game — a match

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