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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. wake — a trail
  5. mate — a partner
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. game — a match
  8. mate — a friend
  9. bat — the animal
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. game — wild animals
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — a phone
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. rule — a law
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. rule — government
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. mate — to breed
  24. cell — in a prison

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