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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 had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  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. calf — of the leg
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. land — to come down
  4. present — the time now
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. cold — an illness
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. land — a country
  12. mug — to rob
  13. land — ground
  14. pound — a weight
  15. present — there
  16. pass — a permit
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. branch — a division
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. mug — a cup
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. present — a gift
  23. mug — a face
  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