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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.

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: calf · pitcher · drill · hand · bat · cold · coach · kick

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. hand — help
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. drill — a practice
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. drill — army training
  9. hand — in cards
  10. cold — an illness
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bat — the animal
  18. drill — the tool
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. cold — not warm
  21. kick — in football
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. kick — a thrill

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