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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. hand — help
  5. spring — of water
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. hand — in cards
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. lean — thin
  10. wound — an injury
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. pitch — completely
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. face — part of the head
  18. spring — the season
  19. face — to confront
  20. lean — to bend
  21. face — to point toward
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pitch — a sports field

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