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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. board — to get on
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. row — to paddle
  6. branch — a division
  7. board — a committee
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. march — music
  14. row — a line
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. cold — not warm
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. march — the month
  20. tube — the underground
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. march — the month
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. cold — an illness

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