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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. lie — to recline
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. game — a match
  8. wind — moving air
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. wind — moving air
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. file — a tool
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. file — a line of people
  22. game — wild animals
  23. file — a document
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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