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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. game — a match
  3. ground — the earth
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. fall — to drop
  6. key — in music
  7. ground — a position
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. fall — the season
  10. cold — not warm
  11. ground — crushed
  12. key — for a lock
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. key — the most important part
  19. rush — hurry
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. cold — an illness
  23. fall — to drop
  24. game — wild animals

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