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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. wind — moving air
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. cell — in biology
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. race — the arms race
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. snap — to click
  13. race — humankind
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. march — the month
  18. cell — a phone
  19. race — a contest
  20. march — music
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. march — the month
  24. wind — moving air

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