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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. chest — a box
  3. last — to go on
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. cold — an illness
  6. last — finally
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. spell — a short time
  9. kick — in football
  10. season — in sport
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pit — in a race
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. season — of the year
  17. cold — not warm
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. pit — a hole
  20. spell — magic
  21. chest — of your body
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. spell — letters
  24. season — to add flavour

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