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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. spell — letters
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. foot — a measure
  6. season — of the year
  7. spring — of water
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. sharp — clever
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. spell — a short time
  15. rock — a stone
  16. spring — the season
  17. season — in sport
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. spell — magic
  20. spring — a coil
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. sharp — exactly
  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