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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. firm — decided
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. present — there
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. present — the time now
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. cold — an illness
  13. perch — the fish
  14. firm — a company
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. firm — steady
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. lash — an eyelash

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