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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. cell — in biology
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. snap — to click
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. bore — to drill
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. prune — to trim
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. prune — to trim
  14. drill — army training
  15. hand — help
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. drill — a practice
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. cell — a phone
  22. drill — the tool
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. bore — to tire

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