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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. cold — not warm
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — child
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. degree — temperature
  11. cold — an illness
  12. degree — an amount
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. degree — from a university

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