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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 water is too ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. cold — an illness
  9. last — finally
  10. last — to go on
  11. face — to point toward
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a tool
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. face — to confront
  18. band — a music group
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. file — a document
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. band — a ring
  23. face — part of the head
  24. last — final

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