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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. row — a line
  4. hand — in cards
  5. last — final
  6. sharp — clever
  7. last — finally
  8. last — to go on
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. hand — help
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. season — in sport
  14. row — to paddle
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. rock — a stone
  20. season — of the year
  21. rock — music
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. wax — to grow

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