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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.

Make a worksheet

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: object · hide · game · racket · calf · cold · roll · pitcher

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. roll — a cake
  3. cold — not warm
  4. object — a thing
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. cold — an illness
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. game — a match
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. object — to protest
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. roll — a list
  23. game — wild animals
  24. calf — a young animal

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