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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. rush — hurry
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. row — a line
  5. face — to confront
  6. land — a country
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. face — part of the head
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. face — to point toward
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — ground
  16. plane — a tool
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. row — to paddle

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