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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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. ground — crushed
  3. staff — a stick
  4. mate — to breed
  5. ground — a position
  6. staff — employees
  7. race — humankind
  8. mate — a partner
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. drill — the tool
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in biology
  16. mate — a friend
  17. ground — the earth
  18. staff — employees
  19. race — a contest
  20. race — the arms race
  21. drill — army training
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. drill — a practice
  24. cold — not warm

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