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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. cue — a signal
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. perch — the fish
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. rush — hurry
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. cue — for pool
  13. mine — for digging
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. cold — not warm
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. cue — a hint
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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