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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. spell — letters
  3. file — a tool
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. spell — a short time
  8. file — a line of people
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. cue — a signal
  11. hand — help
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. march — music
  14. file — a document
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. cue — for pool
  17. spell — magic
  18. march — the month
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. sharp — clever
  21. cue — a hint
  22. march — the month
  23. hand — in cards
  24. calf — a young animal

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