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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — for dancing
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. toast — bread
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. shower — to wash
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — a short time
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. pound — a weight
  14. roll — a list
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. shower — rain
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. club — a group
  20. roll — a cake
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. spell — letters
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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