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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. rule — government
  4. perch — the fish
  5. present — a gift
  6. cue — a hint
  7. board — a committee
  8. board — to get on
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. rule — a law
  12. spring — of water
  13. present — there
  14. cue — a signal
  15. cue — for pool
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. cold — not warm
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. spring — the season
  22. present — the time now
  23. spring — a coil
  24. perch — for a bird

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