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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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. pit — in a race
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. content — happy
  8. race — humankind
  9. drill — the tool
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. pit — a hole
  13. race — the arms race
  14. content — the amount
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. rush — hurry
  18. drill — army training
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. cold — not warm
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. drill — a practice
  23. race — a contest
  24. cold — an illness

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