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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. pass — a permit
  4. last — finally
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. last — final
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. bore — to tire
  11. wake — a trail
  12. last — to go on
  13. band — a ring
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. bore — to drill
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. chair — a leader
  24. band — a music group

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