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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. rash — hasty
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. cell — in biology
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. track — a song
  12. last — to go on
  13. degree — temperature
  14. last — finally
  15. rash — a series
  16. scale — size or range
  17. scale — in music
  18. track — to keep track
  19. last — final
  20. track — a path
  21. cell — a phone
  22. stand — to bear
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — an amount

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