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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kick · cell · race · mine · last · calf

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. cell — in biology
  3. race — a contest
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — in football
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. cell — a phone
  11. last — final
  12. race — humankind
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. last — finally
  15. race — the arms race
  16. mine — for digging
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. 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