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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. cold — not warm
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. race — humankind
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. current — electric
  10. kick — in football
  11. current — happening now
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. current — of water
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. race — a contest
  18. chair — a leader
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — of water
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. cold — an illness
  23. spring — the season
  24. race — the arms race

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