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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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. last — final
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. perch — the fish
  6. season — of the year
  7. last — finally
  8. cell — in biology
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. row — a line
  11. last — to go on
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. season — in sport
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. row — to paddle
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. wake — a trail
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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