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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. season — in sport
  3. wound — an injury
  4. rest — what's left
  5. wound — an injury
  6. file — a document
  7. fine — high quality
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. row — to paddle
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. degree — an amount
  13. season — of the year
  14. fine — all right
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. rest — what's left
  18. file — a tool
  19. row — a line
  20. degree — from a university
  21. file — a line of people
  22. degree — temperature
  23. rest — a break
  24. calf — a young animal

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