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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 giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. last — to go on
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. rule — a law
  7. sharp — clever
  8. last — final
  9. current — electric
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. cold — an illness
  14. current — happening now
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. current — of water
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. rule — government
  23. last — finally
  24. mine — for digging

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