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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. kick — in football
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. key — in music
  5. wind — moving air
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. ball — a great time
  9. wind — moving air
  10. key — for a lock
  11. wake — a trail
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. branch — a division
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. ball — a dance
  19. key — the most important part
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. kick — a thrill

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