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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 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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. club — for dancing
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. club — for golf
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. cold — an illness
  11. club — a group
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. cold — not warm
  16. fork — in a road
  17. snap — to click
  18. temple — side of the head

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