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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: craft · kick · staff · mine · kid · object · calf · scale

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  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. staff — employees
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. kid — child
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. object — to protest
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. scale — size or range
  11. craft — a skill
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kick — in football
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. craft — boats
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. staff — employees
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. object — a thing
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. object — an aim
  22. staff — a stick
  23. scale — in music
  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