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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 120 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. cell — in biology
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. hand — help
  5. last — finally
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. perch — the fish
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. last — final
  15. cell — a phone
  16. bass — low music
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. pound — a weight
  20. bass — the fish
  21. hand — in cards
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. pound — to hit hard

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