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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 116 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 giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. track — to keep track
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. current — happening now
  7. file — a tool
  8. rash — hasty
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. hand — help
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. track — a path
  13. current — electric
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. file — a document
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. track — a song
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. current — of water
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. rash — a series
  23. hand — in cards
  24. file — a line of people

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