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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. charge — in control
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. shower — rain
  6. clip — for paper
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. cold — an illness
  9. clip — a video
  10. sharp — clever
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. charge — electricity
  13. last — finally
  14. clip — to cut
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. shower — to wash
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. cold — not warm
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. charge — a price
  22. last — to go on
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. last — final

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