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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. saw — the tool
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. cold — not warm
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. mate — a partner
  10. bear — the animal
  11. mate — to breed
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. bear — the animal
  17. mate — a friend
  18. cold — an illness
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. saw — the tool

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