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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bat — the animal
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. mine — for digging
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. dip — to sink
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — to shout
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. mine — belonging to me

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