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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. net — in sport
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. net — for catching
  7. fork — in a road
  8. net — after costs
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. scale — in music
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. land — ground
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. track — a path
  18. track — a song
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. scale — size or range
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. land — a country
  24. track — to keep track

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