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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 120 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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. staff — employees
  4. swing — in golf
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. bat — the animal
  7. cap — of ice
  8. wake — a trail
  9. staff — employees
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. swing — to play on
  15. chest — a box
  16. swing — music
  17. chest — of your body
  18. march — the month
  19. cap — a lid
  20. chest — of your body
  21. march — the month
  22. cap — a hat
  23. march — music
  24. bat — for baseball

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