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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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468
Word bank
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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. key — in music
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — magic
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bat — the animal
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. mine — for digging
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. spell — letters
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. kick — in football
  18. key — the most important part
  19. branch — a division
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — a straw man

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