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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. march — the month
  5. wound — an injury
  6. drill — the tool
  7. rush — hurry
  8. drill — a practice
  9. chip — for betting
  10. drill — army training
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. rock — music
  13. key — the most important part
  14. key — in music
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. wound — an injury
  17. chip — to eat
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. key — for a lock
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. rock — a stone
  24. chip — in a computer

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