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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. row — a line
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. last — to go on
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. last — final
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. last — finally
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. row — to paddle
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. mine — for digging
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. mine — an explosive

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