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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. foot — a measure
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. chest — of your body
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. shower — rain
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. shower — to wash
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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