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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. cold — not warm
  3. firm — a company
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. lean — to bend
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. ball — a dance
  8. wake — a trail
  9. rush — hurry
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. lean — thin
  12. field — a subject
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. ball — a great time
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. firm — decided
  19. field — farmland
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. field — for sport
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. cold — an illness
  24. firm — steady

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