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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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. cold — not warm
  3. file — a document
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. row — a line
  6. row — to paddle
  7. race — humankind
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cue — a hint
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. season — of the year
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. race — the arms race
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. season — in sport
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. cue — for pool
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. cue — a signal
  22. file — a tool
  23. race — a contest
  24. file — a line of people

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