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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. bore — to drill
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. bound — tied together
  11. vault — a safe
  12. bore — to tire
  13. bound — certain
  14. kick — in football
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. bound — obliged
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. clip — to cut
  20. clip — a video
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — an illness
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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