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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. chest — of your body
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. prune — to trim
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bound — obliged
  7. rule — a law
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. ball — a great time
  10. bound — tied together
  11. fall — to drop
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. ball — a dance
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bound — certain
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. chest — a box
  18. fall — to drop
  19. chest — of your body
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. rule — government
  22. cold — not warm
  23. fall — the season
  24. prune — to trim

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