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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. cell — a phone
  3. mate — to breed
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — a coil
  8. dip — to sink
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. wound — an injury
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. mate — a friend
  18. vault — a safe
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. spring — the season
  23. cell — in biology
  24. mate — a partner

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