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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 116 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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. fall — to drop
  4. scale — in music
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. swing — to play on
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. fall — to drop
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cell — in biology
  14. swing — music
  15. lie — to recline
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. scale — size or range
  18. swing — in golf
  19. cold — an illness
  20. fall — the season
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. lie — an untruth

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