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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 116 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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. track — a path
  5. file — a line of people
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. file — a document
  12. pitch — completely
  13. file — a tool
  14. track — to keep track
  15. track — a song
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — an illness
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. lie — to recline

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