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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. bass — low music
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. drill — a practice
  5. drill — the tool
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. net — in sport
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. net — after costs
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. cold — not warm
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. net — for catching
  18. bass — the fish
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. cold — an illness
  21. drill — army training
  22. fork — in a road
  23. mine — for digging
  24. fork — a garden tool

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