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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: track · last · calf · race · mate · wound · deal · stick

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. mate — a partner
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. wound — an injury
  7. last — final
  8. track — to keep track
  9. race — humankind
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. last — finally
  12. wound — an injury
  13. last — to go on
  14. race — a contest
  15. deal — to handle
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. mate — a friend
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. mate — to breed
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. track — a path
  23. race — the arms race
  24. calf — a young animal

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