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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. wound — an injury
  3. spring — of water
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. wound — an injury
  6. spring — a coil
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. cold — an illness
  11. rule — a law
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cold — not warm
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. cell — in biology
  16. mate — to breed
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. mate — a partner
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. mate — a friend
  21. spring — the season
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. rule — government
  24. calf — a young animal

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