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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  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 — of the leg
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. file — a document
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. bark — to shout
  12. root — of a plant
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. dip — to sink
  16. root — of a word
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. root — the cause
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. file — a tool
  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