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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. last — final
  6. ball — a dance
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. ball — a great time
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. cold — an illness
  13. deal — to handle
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. last — finally
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cold — not warm
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. wind — moving air
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. wind — moving air
  24. last — to go on

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