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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. last — finally
  4. mine — for digging
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. last — to go on
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bulb — for light
  16. season — in sport
  17. season — of the year
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. last — final
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. bat — the animal
  24. cold — not warm

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