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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. march — the month
  6. last — to go on
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. mate — to breed
  9. cold — an illness
  10. squash — to crush
  11. perch — the fish
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. mate — a friend
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — the sport
  18. last — final
  19. march — music
  20. last — finally
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. march — the month
  24. cold — not warm

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