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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 116 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. lie — to recline
  3. cue — for pool
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. pop — soda
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. spell — a short time
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. pop — to visit
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. cold — not warm
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. capital — a city
  19. pop — music
  20. spell — magic
  21. cue — a signal
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cue — a hint
  24. capital — money

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