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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. snap — to click
  6. spring — the season
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. rush — hurry
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. plane — a tool
  11. track — to keep track
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. last — final
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. track — a song
  19. spring — of water
  20. last — finally
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. last — to go on
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. spring — a coil

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