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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — for digging
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. march — music
  8. ground — a position
  9. last — finally
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. last — to go on
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. ground — crushed
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. lean — thin
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. last — final
  22. march — the month
  23. lean — to bend
  24. ground — the earth

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