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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 protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. drill — army training
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. pitch — completely
  7. cold — not warm
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — temperature
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. cold — an illness
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. drill — the tool
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. season — in sport
  21. season — of the year
  22. degree — an amount
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. drill — a practice

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