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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. current — electric
  4. scale — size or range
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. club — a group
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. wound — an injury
  9. club — for dancing
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. cold — not warm
  12. current — happening now
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. tear — from crying
  15. club — for golf
  16. wound — an injury
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cold — an illness
  19. current — of water
  20. mark — a grade
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. scale — in music
  23. tear — to rip
  24. mark — a trace

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