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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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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: board · mate · hide · saw · calf · cold · lash · drill

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. drill — army training
  8. mate — to breed
  9. cold — an illness
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. saw — the tool
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. drill — the tool
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. mate — a friend
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. board — to get on
  19. mate — a partner
  20. board — a committee
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. drill — a practice
  24. saw — the tool

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