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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 stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. lean — thin
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. field — a subject
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. vault — a safe
  18. field — for sport
  19. field — farmland
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. lean — to bend
  22. bat — the animal
  23. patient — a sick person
  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