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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 124 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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. content — happy
  8. kick — in football
  9. wind — moving air
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. cold — an illness
  16. pass — a permit
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. content — the amount
  23. cold — not warm
  24. kick — a thrill

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