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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — finally
  6. face — to point toward
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. face — part of the head
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. cue — a hint
  12. game — a match
  13. mug — to rob
  14. tube — a container
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. last — final
  17. cue — for pool
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. mug — a cup
  20. cue — a signal
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. game — wild animals
  23. face — to confront
  24. mug — a face

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