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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. deal — to handle
  4. cell — a phone
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. staff — employees
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. file — a document
  12. fall — to drop
  13. staff — a stick
  14. fall — to drop
  15. staff — employees
  16. spell — a short time
  17. spell — letters
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. fall — the season
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a tool
  22. spell — magic
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. deal — an agreement

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