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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.

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: straw · mate · sharp · calf · scale · present · branch · kid

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. present — a gift
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. present — the time now
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. mate — to breed
  9. scale — size or range
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. branch — a division
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — to tease
  14. scale — in music
  15. kid — child
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. mate — a friend
  20. sharp — clever
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. mate — a partner
  23. present — there
  24. branch — of a tree

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