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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. wax — to grow
  8. cell — in biology
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. branch — a division
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. chair — a leader
  16. perch — the fish
  17. cell — a phone
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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