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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 116 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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. tear — to rip
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. season — of the year
  8. season — in sport
  9. tube — the underground
  10. sharp — clever
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wound — an injury
  13. scale — size or range
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. cold — not warm
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. wound — an injury
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. tear — from crying
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. tube — a container
  23. cold — an illness
  24. scale — in music

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