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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. rule — a law
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. chest — a box
  15. pitch — completely
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. cell — a phone
  19. rule — government
  20. wound — an injury
  21. mine — for digging
  22. cell — in biology
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. calf — of the leg

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