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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: key · perch · spring · game · calf · rule · bat · chest

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. game — wild animals
  4. perch — the fish
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. chest — of your body
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. key — the most important part
  9. spring — of water
  10. chest — a box
  11. game — a match
  12. bat — the animal
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. spring — a coil
  15. key — in music
  16. spring — the season
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. key — for a lock
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. chest — of your body
  21. rule — a law
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. rule — government

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