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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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Word bank
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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: last · calf · present · chip · wound · race · cold · sharp

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. present — a gift
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. chip — for betting
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — an illness
  9. last — to go on
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. race — the arms race
  15. last — final
  16. sharp — clever
  17. race — humankind
  18. present — the time now
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. present — there
  23. chip — to eat
  24. last — finally

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