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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bat — the animal
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. season — in sport
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. season — of the year
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. sharp — clever
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. foot — a measure
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. last — finally
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. last — final
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. last — to go on
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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