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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.

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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 · patient · bat · ground · cap · row · dip · hand

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. ground — the earth
  3. cap — of ice
  4. hand — in cards
  5. row — to paddle
  6. cap — a lid
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. cap — a hat
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ground — a position
  18. hand — help
  19. bat — the animal
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. dip — to sink
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. row — a line

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