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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  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. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. staff — employees
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. shower — to wash
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. shower — rain
  8. bat — the animal
  9. fall — the season
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — to drop
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. rule — a law
  14. race — a contest
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. race — the arms race
  19. rule — government
  20. wake — a trail
  21. staff — a stick
  22. race — humankind
  23. staff — employees
  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