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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. season — in sport
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. season — of the year
  17. branch — a division
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — a practice
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. cold — an illness
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. wake — a trail

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