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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. fall — to drop
  5. game — wild animals
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mug — to rob
  8. mug — a cup
  9. capital — a city
  10. hand — help
  11. cold — an illness
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. rush — hurry
  14. mug — a face
  15. fall — the season
  16. fall — to drop
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. capital — money
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. game — a match
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. hand — in cards

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