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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. drill — the tool
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. drill — a practice
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — a match
  7. cell — in biology
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. cell — a phone
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. staff — employees
  13. mine — for digging
  14. staff — a stick
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. sharp — clever
  17. staff — employees
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. game — wild animals
  23. drill — army training
  24. mine — an explosive

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