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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. mug — a face
  7. row — a line
  8. wind — moving air
  9. row — to paddle
  10. squash — the sport
  11. mug — to rob
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. capital — a city
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. capital — money
  16. mug — a cup
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. cold — not warm
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cold — an illness
  21. squash — to crush
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. row — a quarrel

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