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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 124 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. march — the month
  4. land — a country
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. land — to come down
  10. wound — an injury
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. march — music
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bore — to drill
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — to drop
  17. land — ground
  18. wound — an injury
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. march — the month
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bore — to tire
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. fall — the season

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