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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: lean · cold · game · mine · calf · rash · roll · hide

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. lean — thin
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. game — a match
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. game — wild animals
  9. lean — to bend
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. roll — a list
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. rash — hasty
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. roll — a cake
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. cold — not warm
  24. rash — a series

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