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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 protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. mate — to breed
  3. mate — a partner
  4. track — to keep track
  5. cold — not warm
  6. track — a path
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. cold — an illness
  9. spring — of water
  10. charge — in control
  11. tear — from crying
  12. charge — a price
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. track — a song
  16. chip — for betting
  17. spring — the season
  18. mate — a friend
  19. chip — to eat
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. charge — electricity
  22. tear — to rip
  23. tear — from crying
  24. spring — a coil

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