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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 124 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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. mate — a partner
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cold — an illness
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. fall — to drop
  8. court — of a king
  9. court — of law
  10. march — music
  11. fall — the season
  12. march — the month
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. court — for sport
  18. march — the month
  19. mate — to breed
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. mate — a friend
  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