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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. fork — in a road
  6. wound — an injury
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. craft — a skill
  10. cold — an illness
  11. craft — boats
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. game — a match
  19. cold — not warm
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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