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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  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. kid — to tease
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. key — for a lock
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. cue — a signal
  8. cue — a hint
  9. cue — for pool
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. key — in music
  14. key — the most important part
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. kid — child
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bat — the animal
  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