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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. mate — a friend
  3. row — a line
  4. mark — a trace
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. rest — a break
  7. mark — a grade
  8. cold — an illness
  9. object — a thing
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. row — to paddle
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. mate — to breed
  14. rest — what's left
  15. band — a ring
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. object — an aim
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. rest — what's left
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. band — a music group
  23. object — to protest
  24. mate — a partner

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