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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. present — there
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. present — the time now
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. file — a tool
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. cold — not warm
  16. band — a ring
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a line of people
  20. present — a gift
  21. band — a music group
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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