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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 120 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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. season — in sport
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. hand — help
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. rest — a break
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. hand — in cards
  15. drill — a practice
  16. season — of the year
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. drill — army training
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — what's left
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. cold — an illness
  23. board — a committee
  24. board — to get on

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