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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spring — of water
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. mate — to breed
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. cold — an illness
  10. saw — the tool
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. fall — the season
  17. cold — not warm
  18. mate — a friend
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. spring — the season
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. saw — the tool
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. lash — an eyelash

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