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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. dip — to sink
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. track — to keep track
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. file — a tool
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. track — a song
  13. file — a line of people
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. wax — to grow
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. file — a document
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — rain

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