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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 had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. root — of a word
  4. rule — government
  5. root — the cause
  6. rule — a law
  7. season — in sport
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. pass — a permit
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. last — finally
  13. file — a tool
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. root — of a plant
  16. last — to go on
  17. hand — help
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. hand — in cards
  21. season — of the year
  22. last — final
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a document

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