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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. cue — a hint
  3. chest — of your body
  4. saw — the tool
  5. bound — certain
  6. cue — a signal
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. saw — the tool
  9. cue — for pool
  10. bound — obliged
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. swing — in golf
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. swing — music
  17. chest — a box
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. land — to come down
  20. land — ground
  21. chest — of your body
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. land — a country
  24. calf — a young animal

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