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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.

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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. tear — from crying
  3. current — electric
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. current — of water
  6. field — for sport
  7. current — happening now
  8. field — a subject
  9. last — to go on
  10. cold — not warm
  11. last — finally
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. field — farmland
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. last — final
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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