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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 was locked up in a ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. net — after costs
  3. cap — a hat
  4. last — to go on
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. last — final
  7. cap — a lid
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. net — for catching
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. net — in sport
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. cell — in biology
  14. last — finally
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. cell — a phone
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. rule — government
  21. cap — of ice
  22. rule — a law
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. straw — dry grass

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