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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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. fall — to drop
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. branch — a division
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. tube — the underground
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. fall — to drop
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. wake — a trail
  14. hand — help
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. tube — a container
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. bass — low music
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. hand — in cards
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. bass — the fish
  23. fall — the season
  24. calf — a young animal

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