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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. game — wild animals
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. lean — thin
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. lean — to bend
  15. wake — a trail
  16. cold — not warm
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. game — a match
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. lie — to recline
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. wake — before a funeral

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