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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. fall — to drop
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. clip — for paper
  13. pitch — completely
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. bark — to shout
  19. perch — the fish
  20. fall — to drop
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. clip — a video
  23. fall — the season
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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