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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. bank — for money
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. mate — a partner
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. pound — a weight
  10. mate — a friend
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. mate — to breed
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. cold — an illness
  15. row — a line
  16. bank — of a river
  17. cold — not warm
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bank — for money
  22. row — to paddle
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. pound — for dogs

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