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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 works in a ________________ mill.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. pitch — completely
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. tear — from crying
  7. roll — a list
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. capital — a city
  15. roll — a cake
  16. saw — the tool
  17. capital — money
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. cold — an illness
  24. capital — a big letter

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