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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 120 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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. track — a path
  3. object — an aim
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. fall — the season
  7. rule — government
  8. object — a thing
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bat — the animal
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. rule — a law
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — an illness
  16. net — for catching
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. net — in sport
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. object — to protest
  22. net — after costs
  23. track — to keep track
  24. fall — to drop

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