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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. tear — to rip
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. band — a ring
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. tear — from crying
  9. last — to go on
  10. wake — a trail
  11. last — final
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. hand — help
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. rock — a stone
  19. rock — music
  20. tear — from crying
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. last — finally
  23. band — a music group
  24. hand — in cards

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