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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 116 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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. track — to keep track
  5. drill — army training
  6. lean — thin
  7. mug — a cup
  8. drill — a practice
  9. ground — a position
  10. plane — a tool
  11. mug — a face
  12. mug — to rob
  13. ground — the earth
  14. lean — to bend
  15. cue — a hint
  16. cue — a signal
  17. ground — crushed
  18. track — a song
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. cue — for pool
  24. drill — the tool

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