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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 120 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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wake — a trail
  4. wind — moving air
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. tear — to rip
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wound — an injury
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. snap — to click
  21. wound — an injury
  22. tear — from crying
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. wake — before a funeral

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