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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. wind — moving air
  3. kick — in football
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. pop — music
  7. pop — to visit
  8. firm — steady
  9. cold — an illness
  10. pop — soda
  11. firm — a company
  12. track — a path
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. track — a song
  15. cold — not warm
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. firm — decided
  19. track — to keep track
  20. game — a match
  21. wind — moving air
  22. game — wild animals
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. calf — a young animal

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