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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. mate — a friend
  3. fall — the season
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. net — in sport
  8. race — humankind
  9. lean — to bend
  10. net — after costs
  11. scale — in music
  12. mate — a partner
  13. scale — size or range
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. mate — to breed
  16. kick — in football
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. race — the arms race
  19. net — for catching
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — to drop
  22. race — a contest
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. scale — for weighing

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