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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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  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. pitch — completely
  3. board — to get on
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. board — a committee
  6. mine — for digging
  7. last — final
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. spring — the season
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. file — a tool
  13. last — to go on
  14. last — finally
  15. plane — a tool
  16. spring — of water
  17. file — a document
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. spring — a coil
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. file — a line of people
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. mine — an explosive
  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