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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. firm — decided
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — the season
  8. bank — of a river
  9. file — a line of people
  10. bat — the animal
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. bank — for money
  16. spring — of water
  17. bank — for money
  18. firm — steady
  19. firm — a company
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a tool
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — of the leg

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