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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — a trail
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. court — of a king
  10. scale — size or range
  11. cold — not warm
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. scale — in music
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — from a university
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. court — of law
  22. cold — an illness
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. court — for sport

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