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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 120 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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  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. ground — a position
  2. last — to go on
  3. file — a document
  4. last — finally
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. game — wild animals
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. spring — a coil
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. last — final
  13. file — a line of people
  14. spring — of water
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. ground — the earth
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. file — a tool
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. game — a match
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. ground — crushed
  23. spring — the season
  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