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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. bat — the animal
  3. game — a match
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. cold — not warm
  9. lie — to recline
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — an illness
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. craft — a skill
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. wind — moving air
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. craft — boats
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. calf — a young animal

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