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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. rule — government
  4. net — after costs
  5. race — the arms race
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. net — in sport
  8. roll — a cake
  9. swing — music
  10. net — for catching
  11. mark — a trace
  12. rule — a law
  13. mark — a grade
  14. roll — a list
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. swing — in golf
  17. race — a contest
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. swing — to play on
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. race — humankind
  24. rule — to rule out

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