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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. branch — a division
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. march — the month
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. march — music
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. march — the month
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. content — the amount
  16. pit — in a race
  17. cold — not warm
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. stem — to come from
  20. pit — a hole
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. content — happy
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. cold — the Cold War

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