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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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. track — a song
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. object — to protest
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. race — humankind
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. object — a thing
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. race — a contest
  18. pound — a weight
  19. track — to keep track
  20. race — the arms race
  21. object — an aim
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. calf — of the leg

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