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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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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: ground · kid · stick · file · calf · dip · pound · cell

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. kid — to tease
  5. ground — crushed
  6. file — a line of people
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. pound — a weight
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. kid — child
  15. dip — to sink
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a tool
  20. ground — the earth
  21. cell — in biology
  22. ground — a position
  23. cell — a phone
  24. pound — to hit hard

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