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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. land — to come down
  3. squash — to crush
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. march — music
  7. cell — in biology
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. cell — a phone
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. land — a country
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. march — the month
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. pitch — completely
  19. sharp — clever
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. squash — the sport
  23. land — ground
  24. march — the month

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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