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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. hand — in cards
  3. fine — high quality
  4. hand — help
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. drill — a practice
  9. date — the fruit
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — army training
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. key — for a lock
  17. fine — all right
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. key — the most important part
  21. key — in music
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. trunk — of a car

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