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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. row — a line
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. game — wild animals
  6. club — a group
  7. race — a contest
  8. lie — to recline
  9. spring — of water
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. spring — the season
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — the arms race
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. club — for golf
  21. spring — a coil
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. club — for dancing
  24. row — to paddle

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