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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 did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. file — a tool
  3. rest — a break
  4. current — electric
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. hand — help
  8. present — the time now
  9. rest — what's left
  10. spring — of water
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. current — of water
  13. spring — the season
  14. present — there
  15. spring — a coil
  16. season — of the year
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. hand — in cards
  19. current — happening now
  20. season — in sport
  21. rest — what's left
  22. present — a gift
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a line of people

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