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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. last — finally
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. degree — an amount
  11. deal — to handle
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. cold — not warm
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. cold — an illness
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. last — final
  18. degree — from a university
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. last — to go on
  22. degree — temperature
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. temple — a place of worship

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