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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 116 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 giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. swing — to play on
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. sharp — clever
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. kid — to tease
  12. stand — to bear
  13. prune — to trim
  14. swing — music
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. kid — child
  19. swing — in golf
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. prune — to trim
  24. sharp — exactly

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