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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. mate — to breed
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mate — a partner
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. chair — a leader
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. degree — temperature
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. pit — a hole
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. wake — a trail
  14. degree — an amount
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cell — a phone
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. rash — a series
  22. degree — from a university
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. pit — in a race

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