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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: spring · wake · calf · cell · bat · ground · race · chip

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. chip — for betting
  3. ground — crushed
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. chip — to eat
  6. ground — the earth
  7. spring — of water
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. cell — in biology
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — the arms race
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. spring — a coil
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. cell — a phone
  17. spring — the season
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. race — a contest
  20. ground — a position
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — the animal
  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