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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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. kick — in football
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. object — to protest
  7. object — an aim
  8. cell — a phone
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. land — ground
  15. land — to come down
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — an illness
  18. wake — a trail
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. object — a thing
  23. land — a country
  24. calf — a young animal

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