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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. rule — government
  8. snap — to click
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wind — moving air
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. cold — not warm
  14. mate — to breed
  15. bark — to shout
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. wind — moving air
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. mate — a friend
  23. rule — a law
  24. cold — an illness

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