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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 did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. staff — employees
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. last — finally
  5. staff — employees
  6. last — to go on
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. staff — a stick
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bass — low music
  11. degree — an amount
  12. roll — a list
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. race — the arms race
  17. bass — the fish
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. degree — temperature
  20. roll — a cake
  21. last — final
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — humankind
  24. straw — dry grass

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