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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. roll — a list
  3. cold — not warm
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. roll — a cake
  6. chest — of your body
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. season — in sport
  11. chest — a box
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bark — to shout
  20. pass — a permit
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. bear — the animal
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. season — of the year

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