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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 116 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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. hand — help
  3. season — in sport
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. file — a document
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. game — a match
  10. file — a line of people
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. hand — in cards
  14. game — wild animals
  15. season — of the year
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. file — a tool
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — the animal
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. patient — a sick person

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