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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. roll — a cake
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. spring — of water
  10. spell — letters
  11. spring — the season
  12. current — electric
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. net — in sport
  15. spring — a coil
  16. roll — a list
  17. net — for catching
  18. current — of water
  19. spell — magic
  20. net — after costs
  21. current — happening now
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. spell — a short time
  24. mine — for digging

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