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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 116 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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. kid — child
  8. race — humankind
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. kid — to tease
  11. spell — a short time
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. sharp — clever
  17. race — a contest
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. spell — letters
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. race — the arms race
  22. spell — magic
  23. trunk — of a tree
  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