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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. bound — tied together
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bound — certain
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. wake — a trail
  12. shower — rain
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. bat — the animal
  15. rule — government
  16. last — final
  17. rule — a law
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. last — to go on
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. last — finally
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. shower — to wash

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