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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. pop — music
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. bound — obliged
  5. net — after costs
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. pop — soda
  8. lie — to recline
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. capital — a city
  11. bound — tied together
  12. cold — an illness
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. net — for catching
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. net — in sport
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bound — certain
  23. pop — to visit
  24. capital — money

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