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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. last — to go on
  5. staff — employees
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. staff — a stick
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. last — final
  16. cold — not warm
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. wound — an injury
  20. staff — employees
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. cold — an illness
  23. last — finally
  24. racket — a loud noise

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