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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. race — humankind
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. root — the cause
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. race — a contest
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. perch — the fish
  16. root — of a plant
  17. race — the arms race
  18. root — of a word
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. sharp — clever
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. mine — for digging
  24. nail — for a hammer

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