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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. last — to go on
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — a break
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. last — finally
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. branch — a division
  13. pitch — completely
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. march — music
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. rest — what's left
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. last — final
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. march — the month
  24. calf — of the leg

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