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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: mate · rock · ball · calf · deal · cold · kid · wind

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. kid — child
  3. rock — a stone
  4. rock — music
  5. mate — to breed
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. ball — a dance
  9. kid — to tease
  10. cold — an illness
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. mate — a partner
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. mate — a friend
  18. cold — not warm
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. deal — to handle
  22. wind — moving air
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. ball — a great time

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