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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 116 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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — final
  4. saw — the tool
  5. mine — for digging
  6. saw — the tool
  7. stand — to bear
  8. cap — of ice
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — music
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. cap — a hat
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. pop — soda
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. track — a song
  19. last — finally
  20. cap — a lid
  21. track — a path
  22. track — to keep track
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. calf — of the leg

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