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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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. sharp — clever
  4. bear — the animal
  5. cold — not warm
  6. track — a path
  7. track — a song
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. race — a contest
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. race — humankind
  14. file — a line of people
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. file — a document
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. lean — to bend
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. race — the arms race
  22. file — a tool
  23. lean — thin
  24. track — to keep track

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