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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. wind — moving air
  3. key — the most important part
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. key — for a lock
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — a match
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. spell — letters
  13. rush — hurry
  14. cell — in biology
  15. key — in music
  16. cell — a phone
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spell — magic
  23. wind — moving air
  24. game — wild animals

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