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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. wound — an injury
  4. spell — letters
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. spell — a short time
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. pound — a weight
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. spell — magic
  18. wound — an injury
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — a break
  23. bat — the animal
  24. coach — a trainer

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