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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 giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. cue — a signal
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. stem — to come from
  6. row — a line
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. cue — a hint
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. sharp — clever
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cue — for pool
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. bark — to shout
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. saw — the tool
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. row — to paddle

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