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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. cold — not warm
  4. swing — in golf
  5. spring — the season
  6. drill — the tool
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. drill — a practice
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. chair — a leader
  14. rest — a break
  15. swing — to play on
  16. spring — a coil
  17. drill — army training
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. spring — of water
  20. rest — what's left
  21. swing — music
  22. rest — what's left
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chair — a professorship

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