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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. cold — not warm
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. tube — the underground
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. cold — an illness
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. rock — music
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. march — music
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. tube — a container
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. march — the month
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. march — the month
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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