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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mark — a grade
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. bat — the animal
  7. chest — of your body
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. mark — a trace
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. chest — a box
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. content — happy
  21. content — the amount
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — the tool

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