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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. branch — a division
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. staff — a stick
  5. file — a document
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. staff — employees
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. staff — employees
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. file — a tool
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. spell — a short time
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. file — a line of people
  18. cold — an illness
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. spell — magic
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. branch — of a bank

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