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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 hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. cold — an illness
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. cold — not warm
  12. last — finally
  13. charge — electricity
  14. last — to go on
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. charge — in control
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. last — final
  24. charge — a price

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