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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. degree — from a university
  3. cap — of ice
  4. degree — an amount
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. rock — music
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cap — a hat
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. cold — an illness
  11. wound — an injury
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cold — not warm
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. degree — temperature
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. cap — a lid
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. rock — a stone

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