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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bound — obliged
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. game — a match
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. bound — tied together
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. wake — a trail
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mate — to breed
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. fork — in a road
  21. bound — certain
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. calf — a young animal

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