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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 116 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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. mine — for digging
  4. cold — not warm
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. tube — the underground
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. tube — a container
  15. pass — a permit
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bass — low music
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. sharp — clever
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. cold — an illness

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