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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. cold — an illness
  5. game — a match
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. firm — decided
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. branch — a division
  12. cell — in biology
  13. rash — hasty
  14. cold — not warm
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. firm — steady
  17. cell — a phone
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. wake — a trail
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. firm — a company
  22. rash — a series
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. game — wild animals

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