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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. bass — low music
  3. last — finally
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. last — final
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bass — the fish
  8. can — a tin
  9. cold — an illness
  10. can — to be able to
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. court — of law
  13. stand — to bear
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. can — a tin
  17. cold — not warm
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. court — for sport
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. court — of a king
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. stand — for spectators

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