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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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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: land · mine · straw · face · rash · kick · calf · chair

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. mine — for digging
  3. rash — hasty
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. land — a country
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. face — to confront
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. land — to come down
  14. chair — a leader
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. kick — in football
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. land — ground
  20. face — to point toward
  21. rash — a series
  22. face — part of the head
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. mine — an explosive

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