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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hand — in cards
  6. wind — moving air
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. field — farmland
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. staff — a stick
  11. race — the arms race
  12. hand — help
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. staff — employees
  15. race — humankind
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. race — a contest
  20. staff — employees
  21. field — for sport
  22. wind — moving air
  23. field — a subject
  24. tube — the underground

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