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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — of water
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. mark — a grade
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. saw — the tool
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. spring — the season
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. saw — the tool
  19. mark — a trace
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — not warm
  24. calf — of the leg

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