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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. staff — employees
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. firm — decided
  5. cold — not warm
  6. degree — from a university
  7. spring — of water
  8. staff — employees
  9. spring — a coil
  10. degree — an amount
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. degree — temperature
  13. mate — a friend
  14. firm — steady
  15. firm — a company
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. mate — a partner
  18. spring — the season
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. staff — a stick
  22. cold — an illness
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. calf — a young animal

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