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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. cell — a phone
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. cell — in biology
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. snap — to click
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. rest — a break
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — what's left
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. rush — hurry
  24. cold — not warm

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