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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 120 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'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. current — of water
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. race — a contest
  7. cue — a signal
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. chair — a leader
  11. race — the arms race
  12. cue — for pool
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. tube — a container
  18. cold — not warm
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. tube — the underground
  22. race — humankind
  23. current — happening now
  24. current — electric

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