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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 116 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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. band — a ring
  4. stand — to bear
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. lie — to recline
  7. band — a music group
  8. row — a line
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — to paddle
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. cold — not warm
  20. race — the arms race
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. kick — in football
  23. race — humankind
  24. race — a contest

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