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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — rain
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. bear — the animal
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. sharp — clever
  8. kid — to tease
  9. degree — from a university
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. wake — a trail
  13. shower — to wash
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bear — the animal
  19. kid — child
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. degree — temperature
  24. calf — a young animal

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