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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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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: bear · nail · last · chip · cold · calf · pass · file

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. last — final
  3. bear — the animal
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. file — a line of people
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. chip — for betting
  12. bear — the animal
  13. file — a tool
  14. pass — a permit
  15. chip — to eat
  16. file — a document
  17. cold — not warm
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. last — finally
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. cold — an illness
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. last — to go on
  24. calf — of the leg

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