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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. cell — a phone
  5. saw — the tool
  6. cold — an illness
  7. track — a song
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. bore — to drill
  10. track — to keep track
  11. rush — hurry
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. bore — to tire
  14. saw — the tool
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. kid — to tease
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cell — in biology
  21. kid — child
  22. track — a path
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. calf — a young animal

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