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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. mine — for digging
  5. spell — letters
  6. cell — in biology
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. spell — a short time
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. cold — not warm
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. tear — to rip
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cold — an illness

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