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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 116 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 giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. vault — a safe
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. land — ground
  5. band — a music group
  6. cold — not warm
  7. land — a country
  8. current — electric
  9. rest — a break
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. cold — an illness
  12. rest — what's left
  13. cap — a lid
  14. current — happening now
  15. cap — of ice
  16. land — to come down
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. cap — a hat
  20. band — a ring
  21. current — of water
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. rest — what's left

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