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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — an illness
  4. rest — a break
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. track — to keep track
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. cold — not warm
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. land — ground
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. track — a path
  14. land — to come down
  15. tube — the underground
  16. mine — for digging
  17. rest — what's left
  18. staff — employees
  19. tube — a container
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. rest — what's left
  22. staff — employees
  23. track — a song
  24. land — a country

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