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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 116 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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. wake — a trail
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. band — a music group
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — of water
  9. tube — a container
  10. rash — hasty
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. spring — the season
  15. tube — the underground
  16. shower — to wash
  17. band — a ring
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. shower — rain
  21. rash — a series
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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