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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 had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. band — a music group
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. land — to come down
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. net — after costs
  10. sharp — clever
  11. land — ground
  12. net — for catching
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. stand — to bear
  16. band — a ring
  17. net — in sport
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. vault — a safe
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. land — a country
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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