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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. mine — for digging
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. game — a match
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. file — a document
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. file — a tool
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. file — a line of people
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. last — to go on
  19. last — final
  20. last — finally
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. calf — a young animal

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