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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 124 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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. content — the amount
  4. row — to paddle
  5. spell — a short time
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. content — happy
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. pitch — completely
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. cell — in biology
  12. spell — letters
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. row — a line
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. spell — magic
  21. wound — an injury
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. cell — in a prison

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