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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  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. racket — for tennis
  2. track — a song
  3. cold — not warm
  4. present — the time now
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. track — to keep track
  7. branch — a division
  8. present — a gift
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. face — to confront
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. track — a path
  13. present — there
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. face — part of the head
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. cold — an illness
  23. face — to point toward
  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