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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. craft — boats
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. tube — a container
  8. wake — a trail
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. game — wild animals
  11. face — to point toward
  12. last — final
  13. last — to go on
  14. last — finally
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. face — part of the head
  20. face — to confront
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. craft — a skill
  23. tube — the underground
  24. tube — in a tire

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