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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. spell — letters
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. bound — certain
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — the fish
  8. cold — an illness
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. court — of law
  11. spell — a short time
  12. rush — hurry
  13. court — of a king
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. bound — obliged
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. lean — to bend
  18. spell — magic
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bound — tied together
  23. court — for sport
  24. cold — the Cold War

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