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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: calf · bat · perch · kid · cabinet · last · cold · safe

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  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. last — to go on
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. last — final
  18. last — finally
  19. kid — to tease
  20. cold — not warm
  21. kid — child
  22. bat — the animal
  23. perch — the fish
  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