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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. game — wild animals
  3. tear — from crying
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. rash — hasty
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rash — a series
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. fork — in a road
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. snap — to click
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. bat — the animal
  22. game — a match
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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