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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. spring — of water
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. bark — to shout
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. spring — the season
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. mate — a friend
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. spring — a coil
  15. rule — government
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. mate — a partner
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. mate — to breed
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. wake — a trail
  23. rule — a law
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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