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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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Word bank
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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. mate — to breed
  5. squash — to crush
  6. file — a line of people
  7. rest — a break
  8. race — a contest
  9. file — a tool
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bat — the animal
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. file — a document
  14. mate — a friend
  15. race — humankind
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. race — the arms race
  18. squash — the sport
  19. mate — a partner
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. present — the time now
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. present — a gift

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