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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. mate — to breed
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. mate — a partner
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. mate — a friend
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. chair — a leader
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. wound — an injury
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. sharp — clever
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. season — of the year
  23. season — in sport
  24. wound — an injury

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