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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 giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. rest — a break
  3. last — to go on
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. rest — what's left
  7. cold — not warm
  8. last — final
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. current — of water
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. rest — what's left
  16. last — finally
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. kick — in football
  20. current — electric
  21. perch — the fish
  22. current — happening now
  23. cold — an illness
  24. perch — for a bird

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