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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bound — obliged
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. chest — of your body
  6. file — a document
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. chest — of your body
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. file — a tool
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. chest — a box
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. perch — the fish
  17. bound — tied together
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. present — a gift
  20. bound — certain
  21. present — the time now
  22. present — there
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. file — a line of people

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