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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 120 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. bank — of a river
  3. sharp — clever
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. stem — to come from
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. bank — for money
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. last — finally
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. file — a line of people
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. bank — for money
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a tool
  22. last — final
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. sharp — with an edge

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