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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. wound — an injury
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. hand — in cards
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. bass — the fish
  12. wound — an injury
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. pop — to visit
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. pop — soda
  17. kick — in football
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. bass — low music
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. pop — music
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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