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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. last — to go on
  5. pass — a permit
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — in biology
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. saw — the tool
  10. last — final
  11. last — finally
  12. bear — the animal
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. cell — a phone
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. kid — child
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. saw — the tool
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. bear — the animal
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. pass — to succeed

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