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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 120 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: staff · last · cold · fall · calf · wake · tear · hide

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. fall — to drop
  4. tear — from crying
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. wake — a trail
  8. tear — to rip
  9. last — finally
  10. fall — to drop
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cold — an illness
  14. last — final
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. tear — from crying
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. staff — employees
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. fall — the season
  22. staff — employees
  23. last — to go on
  24. cold — not warm

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