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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. prune — to trim
  3. track — a path
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. ground — a position
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. drill — the tool
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. track — to keep track
  12. ground — crushed
  13. drill — a practice
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. mine — for digging
  16. prune — to trim
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. ground — the earth
  21. track — a song
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. calf — of the leg

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