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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — finally
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. object — a thing
  5. rock — a stone
  6. object — to protest
  7. game — a match
  8. rock — music
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wound — an injury
  12. last — final
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. stem — to come from
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. object — an aim
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. game — wild animals
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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