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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. field — a subject
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. lie — to recline
  11. band — a ring
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. chest — a box
  14. field — farmland
  15. fork — in a road
  16. chest — of your body
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. band — a music group
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. field — for sport
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. chest — of your body

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