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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. march — the month
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. last — to go on
  7. cold — an illness
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. march — the month
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. vault — a safe
  15. mate — a friend
  16. last — finally
  17. march — music
  18. cold — not warm
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. last — final
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. mate — to breed
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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