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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — not warm
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. rock — a stone
  8. club — for golf
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. content — happy
  12. rock — music
  13. club — a group
  14. cold — an illness
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. club — for dancing
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. content — the amount

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